I didn't say that Götze is better than Reus. There's no doubt about that. But asking Reus to drop deep into the midfield to help out is ridiculous. My point was simple we should switch to a 4-3-3 play Reus on the left where he cut his teeth for years and have Brandt play in the middle. But if we have to play with a no. 10 then let Götze play in that position because he's the best at brining players in the game.
The problem is not bringing players into the game. Reus was poor, because he was misplaced some simple passes to do so, but he usually does. Our problem is not the no 10. Our big problem is the Gundogan role. When Brandt came on and took control of this role, we dominated the game. We have pretty much lost all midfield battles since January. Playing a 4-3-3, does not solve the problem, because Brandt on the left hand side would be playing that role anyway. It's the role that Raphael played last year and even then it was not enough. We would still need another creative 8. We need Dahoud to deliver or we need to sign someone else now. It's very late, but for me it's trust Dahoud, which I admit is a big gamble or get someone to play the Gundogan role. We are so close to having a team to rival the best in the world, but we need that 8. It's something simple, but it would completely transform the team. EDIT We will never have the power and the pace to compete with the other powerful teams, but like Ajax we can get around them if add technique. If everyone in the team can pass quickly then there is no one in the world we should fear, but in the centre we need that technique.
Shunting Brandt to the periphery doesn't make sense. He became the most wanted player at Bayer because he started controlling games from the middle. We haven't had a dominant midfield since Gundogan and Kehl/Bender back in 2012/13. So if we don't have the quality then we can make it up on numbers. I'm fine with playing Witsel, Brandt and Weigl in the middle. LF doesn't trust Dahoud. It sucks but he's also justified in doing so.
I would say we did have a dominant midfield when Gundogan made his resurgence and we had Gundogan/Weigl. That being said I agree about Brandt. He is so good we need to play him where he is best. I don't think he would he in the periphery playing the Raphael role, with freedom to come inside. Also If Dahoud was playing in the centre, then the two of them could easily switch position, or switch switch with Reus. It would be a very fluid line up, with Reus, Brandt and Dahoud able to switch at will.
After more than two years I have doubts about Mo. It's not like our club is bad at developing talent. If anything they have a lot of patience and they do give players chances. In fact that's a USP of the club. He's disappointed more than he has inspired. Over successive games, Witsel and Weigl would outperform him.
I have serious doubts about Dahoud too. It's not like I am championing his cause, because I think he is going to be a star. First I would like to say I would try Brandt in the Rapahel role, see if he likes it, if he does like it then I would move on to Dahoud. Dahoud may have disappointed, but he has never had a sustained run in the team and as I said, ALL our great performances were with him playing a key role. I don't hate Witsel and it seems like I do to some, but he is just like Schmelzer for me. He is holding the team back, because he only has a 6/10 level. We can't compete in the CL or even win the Bundesliga with that level in midfield. I am only 50/50 in Dahoud, but it is do or die. With Witsel/Weigl or worse Witsel/Delaney, I am confident we will be destroyed by any top team we face in Europe. We will struggle to get the ball to our attackers and struggle in the Bundesliga. We have enough evidence to see it does not work. The entire second half of last season, the matches against Bayern, including this Super Cup, the Tottenham match. I am repeating myself, but forgive me. Look at our greatest performances against top teams. The 3-2 win were being destroyed and even Kovac said Dahoud changing the game. Or the 4-0 win against Atletico, where once more the very early injury to Delaney and Dahoud coming on changed things. If we trust Dahoud he might flop, but then what do we lose? We have a history of failing with our current midfield. Only with Dahoud performing have we ever been able to compete. EDIT And the rest of the team is READY. If we can sort out the midfield, there is not a team in Europe we should fear. There's not a team we couldn't beat. I have only ever felt that twice before in my time supporting Dortmund 1. in 2013 2. 2016 Sadly both teams lost key players straight away.
Watching Düsseldorf-Leverkusen, Union Berlin-Leipzig and Schalke- Bayern showed that the top teams had a relatively easy win. I'd say the main difference is that they move the ball forward much quicker. It looks (to me) like the slow build up play is LF's style. Usually it takes 5 min to even cross the half line and 10-15 min before we create anything. So why not full pace from the start, score some goals, and make it comfortable for our selfs? Gomez was also very good distributing the ball forward, but never got the chance to play. So whoever, just play the ball fast. But I'm afraid it comes not to who's playing there, it's the tactics, like wait and see, probably they get tired, and we'll get them in the second half. Maybe it's calculated, but we'll concede lot of unnecessary goals, end risk dropping points. EDIT If Raphael stays, he could also play that role The pattern is the same as last season, after a comfortable win in the first round we struggled against Hannover in the second.
The Dahoud situation is intriguing because there are no apparent rumors about him leaving despite playing fewer than 700 BL minutes last season, missing a big part of preseason, and being knocked down the pecking order by the re-emergence of Weigl and Brandt's arrival. Obviously Favre has had a long history with him and they probably have a strong relationship. I'm hopeful that the team hasn't given up on him. I found it mildly promising that Weigl and Witsel showed a willingness to play longer balls and take risks going forward in the Augsburg match (including Witsel's two assists), but the 1st half against Köln demonstrated they have some ways to go. Much is often made of Witsel's 95%+ pass completion figures and he recently said that he gets upset if he loses 2 or 3 balls in a match, but perhaps it shows he is too risk-averse with the ball and ends up short-changing the ball progression. The good news is that there is a big stock of talent in midfield. The challenge is for Favre to play the right guys for the right matches, and avoid the trap of last season.
I think you have a point, that it is partly Favre's tactics, but it's not the way for a top team to play. We need to go and oppose our game on the opponents. I hope Favre begins to adapt or else he will hold this team back. However, when it comes to moving the ball quickly, this is where Witsel just does not have it. His technique when it comes to quick passing is not at the level of others like say Dahoud or Weigl. I gave him the benefit of the doubt, but when he was being closed down, he just couldn't raise his game. Also apart from struggling in most games, since January, we have been hammered the last couple of times we played a top 10 European side. Tottenham and Bayern didn't just beat us, in crunch games, they hammered us. At Wembley we had injuries, but we lost 3-0. In Munich we lost 5-0. These aren't coincidences.
I'm not so sure about Witsel not having it. I think, if he got a clear message to pass the ball quicker, he'll do it. If I'm not mistaken, in the match against Bayern last year, it was him that gave the quick pass to Paco for the decisive scoring. You can say that it was the only case, on the other hand it was one of few cases for Dahoud too. Maybe it's not Witsel's role to pass the ball quickly forward, but then there should be one beside him to do that, like f.ex Brandt or Dahoud. I don't believe LF will ever give a chance to Raschl unless 3 of the other DM's are injured or can't play. Maybe we need someone new...
I think with Werner who is ready to be world class in my opinion, RBL shouldnt be counted out for a great run either. I see this year as a three team race. RBL will give Bayern fits if they keep Werner and there seems to be no indication that they are close to signing him. I cant help but wonder.. would RBL be better served to keep Werner and make one big run at the title themselves? or would they be better served to just sell him and probably fall down the pecking order to 4th or 5th (because thats a huge talent to let go of).
Hopefully you are right and I am wrong. When LP, proved me wrong and had a great season, when he was fit, I was ecstatic. I have seen Witsel for Belgium and remember thinking the same and when Delaney has played deeper, my thoughts have not changed. Werner signing a contract extension is great for us. We need to be bold, brave and realistic. We are likely to lose Sancho this summer, but we are also likely to have 150 million Euros to spend. We need to be monitoring the Werner and Sane situations. We will have the money, but we need to ensure we have the prestige to compete.
Dortmund will need to go all out for Havertz next sesson especially if Sancho leaves. It's time to start moving onto the next leavel and go for the bigger fish.
Havertz is the dream, but we need to deliver this season. I was reading what Favre said, it was translated so it may not have been accurate, but he was not happy with the speed of play. He wanted us to play faster, and was happy Brandt and Hakimi changed this. So if he knows the problem and is not happy with, let's hope he does something about it in the next match.
Basically yeah. He said the team played too slowly and with poor movement in the first half, improved a bit in the 2nd half, and then Brandt/Hakimi made a big difference later on.
Take it with a pinch of salt. LF is a cautious coach. He doesn't encourage shots on goal with low xG. And on top of that he's possession oriented. I know we've only played minnows so far but so have other top clubs and we've got highest possession and third highest pass completion in the top 5. So no, our speed of play isn't going to increase unless we acquire prime Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets.
Favre doesn't mean that the team should play more vertically. It's just that they won't be able to break either opposing presses or defensive blocks if their decisions, passing, and movement don't become more precise and quick.
I have said this for a long time and as you can see it is why I want Witsel dropped. It's not about hitting a first time pass occasionally on the counter. It's about his speed in controlling and then passing a simple pass, it really does matter. In the first half the lack of speed stopped passes going into Reus. The second thing, which both Witsel and Weigl lack, is the energy to move into space. Brandt was incredible moving into space, Dahoud is another in perpetual movement. This means they are hard to mark and frees up space for the others. City dominate possession, but they pass very quickly as do Barca and the old Wenger teams. I like what Favre said, but let's see if he does something about it.
Realistically Witsel will get a long leash. The management sees his acquisition as a feather in their cap, nabbing an international quality player without breaking the bank and signifying a departure from the days of pretending that the likes of Rode, Schürrle, Yarmolenko, or Castro were value moves. Plus, Witsel is a role model of sorts for the Francophone players and perhaps the only player who can speak with all the non-German speaking players in their respective native languages. Auba used to occupy that role...and it ended badly. Still, I’m optimistic that he (as the rest of the midfield players) will take a step forward in his game. I think the season rides on it.
I have never got this aspect of German clubs. Bayern are making a huge fuss over Coutinho as well. Coutinho might turn out to be amazing for them, but nobody is impressed with it. He was thrown at every top club in the world and they all rejected him. Brandt and Sancho are the real feathers in our caps. I hope we don't end up in a position like United or Chelsea did where older pros are using their stature to play over more deserving younger ones.
We don't need both central defensive midfielders to be the best passers/creators. One will suffice, especially if we get creativity from wingers, full backs, and the #10 player. That's why I think Witsel much more positives than negatives. The question now is where to play Brandt and Reus to maximize our stability and creativity. And also if it's not Brandt, then who will partner Witsel? Weigl? Dahoud? Delaney if we need an extra physical midfield?
It's not a question of creativity. Even before we added Brandt the attack was deadly. It's a question of 1. Passing the ball quickly so the attackers get the ball quickly. 2. Being mobile and nimble enough to compete against top teams. 3. Being press resilient and still being able able to pass the ball to our attackers I don't care if the midfield gets assist or goals, though some would he nice. However, at the highest level they to have the movement and the ability to supply the ball to our attackers quickly. One does not suffice, because he will be blocked off and teams focus on the weak one. We need an entire team to he technical. The Brandt issue is not a problem for me. He is so good, we him in the Raphael role and if he does not like it then play him at the 8. Brandt is so good we play him in his best position.
I know we disagree on the value of Witsel, so I mostly don't respond. But I think you are either accidentally or intentionally neglecting what Witsel brings in order to magnify his deficiencies playing fast offense. Witsel starts because Witsel brings a steadying presence on offense, and... a steadying presence on defense. Yes, when we want to rush upfield on the counter, Witsel isn't the guy. But he doesn't have to be. We can move it up the wings with speed. But when things get out of hand, Witsel anchors the midfield. You don't like that Witsel is a pause button. But sometimes you need a pause button. I am not worried about BVB offense. I am worried about their holding and their defense, allowing them to not get hauled down by your lower-tier guns blazing teams, like Dusseldorf last year, and Witsel is good for that. He is good for bodying people off the ball in midfield and clogging up the space. Good at holding onto the pass for three seconds while under pressure to let the team get back into shape. To me, that is big value. And, honestly, to me he isn't as big an impediment to offense as he is to you. He does play some nice forward passes, he has a decent shot, and he positions himself well as an outlet when the backs have gone forward, which is a lot.