It's the Monday matches. They are holding up middle fingers and the fck DFB signs. I don't get these fans. They have nothing against cup and European games in the middle of the week.
Phillip's face as he's leaving! I feel bad for the dude. He barely touched the ball. I even think he would have finished some of these Gotze shots.. In the future Favre must switch positions of these two if they are to play up front.
Would have liked Dahoud instead of Bruun Larsen. We need someone to create the chances. Use the last sub already, what is Favre waiting for. A draw is pretty much a loss.
so disappointing from the coach. What does Larsen add in offense? Why crowd the middle even more? very bad result :/
Favre MUST learn. He can't keep picking the same midfield. Dahoud has many faults, but he simply must play now. For those of you who like to downplay Reus and the effect he has on the team, just look at recent weeks. If he is not back for Leverkusen, we will lose that and be behind Bayern. Just sad to see.
Holy shit, 0:0 against the last placed team. Glad that Favre didn't use the last sub so that Dahoud and Hakimi are well rested for the midweek game. Well done. I'm not too disappointed about the FBs, they played reasonably well. But after 60 minutes, we needed more, especially Hakimi for Diallo would have been worth a shot. Delaney isn't a creator against teams that play so deep. Dahoud was the obvious alternative. I felt sorry for Sancho this game. He fought till the end and tried everything, on both sides and the middle but he alone can't do it.
The Dahoud situation infuriates. We all know his faults, but he is vital to this team. His ability to take the ball under pressure and pass quickly opens up space. What midweek game? Sorry if I missed the sarcasm. Let's just pray Reus is back for Leverkusen.
Yes, but I actually thought Bayern's GD would be closer. We will most likely still be on top on GD, I assumed Bayern would have closed the gap.
Yes, it was sarcasm because there was no excuse to not use all the subs when better quality for a position is on the bench. Even after a tough game, you should be able to play 15-20 minutes at full power but you might need some time to get into the game. The most damaging aspect in regards to the team morale might be that Favre isn't doing his best to set the team up for success. That should be the minimum you can expect. The players aren't without fault, but Favre isn't helping. It's only a matter of time before the players start doubting the coach when he's screwing up these little things. Losing 6 points in comparison to Bayern hurts even more when 5 points were lost against Düsseldorf and Nürnberg and 2 points by blowing a 3:0 lead.
Maybe we should revert to 4-3-3 in the absence of Reus. Play would be created by: - Dahoud being in the middle 3 - interplay on the wing between Guerreiro and Hakimi - Sancho on the wing, alone or interplay with LP if he's back, but even Wolf can do the trick to some degree. If not, then at least widen the field even with a 4-3-2-1!
Dahoud can't play in a 3 man midfield so it would just be a waste. His skill set is best ina 4-2-3-1. As I mentioned previously for all his faults, against the best teams he was needed to change the match around. He played a pivotal role in changing the Atletico and Bayern matches. The one match he started in a midfield 2 (against Hoffenheim) is also the one match we actually looked good attacking.
Most of the downward spiral can be attributed to LF. The rest to injuries. Playing Götze CF, Diallo LB, Delaney against Fortuna, Philipp in the middle are all down to Lucien Favre. Bayern are going from strength to strength. If they, god forbid, beat Liverpool today our season is wrecked. Anybody who thinks that by Bayern going further in the CL and pokal increases our chances of BL success is a complete fücking idiot. The last 6 years are proof of that. Its only a matter of time before we start fighting for the 2nd spot with BMG. We need better people at the top. Aki says he is looking for his successor. That is the worst thing he can do. We need somebody else with fresh new ideas and contacts. Not another idiot CEO who is resting on his laurels from 15 years ago.
Next weekend we face Peter Bosz!! Here's hoping he doesn't fück up our seasons twice in a row. I bet he would be itching for revenge.
It won't happen and it seems to be an industry standard but the next CEO's bonuses depending on the financial results should get reduced significantly. Spending wisely is crucial but I also don't want the CEO to sit on the money just to get millions in bonuses. In return, I don't mind big incentives for actual success. A balance is needed. I also don't want someone who spends like crazy and is gone the next year, of course. We reportedly had around 100 million available before the Pulisic transfer and were faced with probably the best opportunity to win the league for the next 5 years. Bayern is only going to strenghten their hold on the league in the coming years as the younger players are taking over. I know it may be hard to persuade other clubs to sell good players in the winter but we didn't even seem interested. Some of the previous winter windows got us good players. Instead, they seemed more motivated to save money by getting rid of useless players. That helped the bank account but didn't do anything for what's happening on the field.
We missed a golden chance this January. I always felt the attack was being carried by Reus and wouldn't be able to cope without him. His form for the first half of the season was only behind Ronaldo and Messi. I will repeat that Dahoud needs to play. Yes he gives the ball away in stupid areas and will cost us goals, but we have no choice. Delaney has actually outperformed Witsel in recent games, but it is not enough. Whilst not doing anything wrong, his speed of passing, the ability to swivel and pass the other direction are things that open up opponents. Dahoud's energy to run and always be free or break the lines. He brings more to the team than his negatives. As for the Bayern question, I am an idiot, because I want them to win tonight. Bayern going far in the CL is exactly what we need. I want them to go as far as possible in both competitions and get very hard draws.
You have no idea how finances work. The further Bayern go in the CL, the more money they get from TV deals, sponsors, ticket sales, prize and potential player sales. They use that money to lure our players and targets to build a deeper and more resilient squad. And guess what? They've been doing that for the last decade and have left us in the dust. This is why even though we won the title in 2012 we haven't done so ever since. Even Watzke is not that myopic.
Actually I do have an idea how finances work. Bayern missing out on the quarters one season is not going to significantly dent, their finances. Especially when they are committed and have already rebuilt. Hudson-Odoi, Pavard, possibly Werner and Hernandez are going to revitalise the squad for next season. They are going to be back with Europe's elite. It's short sighted to want Bayern to have a slight blip and not focus on Dortmund. Top players don't just want money, they want trophies and the chance to compete at the highest level. This league title means we can attract quality players and take the step up. Blow the league and the best we can hope for is getting talented kids, which is hit and miss. Sancho will probably do everything possible to leave. Reus will be injured at some point and we will struggle to make top 4. I don't care about Bayern losing 20 million, when Leverkusen have a better first 11.
I feel like the management has willfully forgotten the level of talent in numbers it took to win the back-to-back Buli titles and reach the CL final. You need multiple world class players on the pitch to be one of the top sides in Europe and compete with Bayern - putting it all on Reus's shoulders was obviously unsustainable, even if Akanji, Witsel, Sancho, Piszczek, and Bürki have looked brilliant throughout much of the year. They really had to add another established, high-level talent in the winter, even conceding that a real world-class player was going to be unlikely. Even given their existing roster there are glaring cases of underutilization like Dahoud.
You think a slight blip in the CL is not going to affect Bayern but one title in 6 years is going to encourage a slew of talented players to join us? How well did that work out for Monaco and Leicester? No, you do NOT have an idea of how football finances work. Bayern is a panty dropper of a club because they are regulars in the CL semi-finals. This stage is what every top 10 club aspires to achieve. Same goes for Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus.