Re: David Yelldell: Now at Bayer....on the bench....again. So Leno has played pretty well and apparently Stuttgart is amenable to Leverkusen extending the loan or buying him outright. Meanwhile, kicker claims that Adler and Leverkusen are far apart in contract talks and Schalke is trying to get him on a free after this season. (http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/bundesliga/vereine/558558/artikel_schalke-will-adler.html) Yelldell, meanwhile, has backed up Leno in every Bundesliga and CL game so far.
Re: David Yelldell: Now at Bayer....on the bench....again. LOL. I love stats like that. Meaningless other than to fill a piece of paper for all the good it does Yelldell. My guess is he finds himself with a 2.BL club by next season. Does not strike me as the type of guy who wants to ride the pine.
Re: David Yelldell: Now at Bayer....on the bench....again. He signed the contract at Bayer before Adler's injury if his intend was not to ride the pine he must have been delusional. That is probably the contract of his career there will be no 2nd Bundesliga team that would match what he earns at Bayer so I would be amazed if he goes anywhere.
Re: David Yelldell: Now at Bayer....on the bench....again. He was so bad in his one appearance that BL went out and got the other guy to step in as starter immediately over him.
Re: David Yelldell: Now at Bayer....on the bench....again. False. He never played in the BL for Leverkusen. He played in a cup game where Leverkusen had a 3-1 or 3-0 lead then gave it up and lost. The defenders were just as much to blame for the goals as David. So Leverkusen put in Giefer for their BL opener, and HE was so bad that they went out and got Bernd Leno (also he got a concussion).
Re: David Yelldell: Now at Bayer....on the bench....again. No doubt it is a pay day for him, but doubt it is that much more than a starting first string keeper in the 2.BL. He simply does not have the pedigree for that and Leverkusen are well known for not over-paying players....unless they are superstars. To be fair, the WHOLE team sucked in that match and Yelldell was left stranded. He is seen as Dutt's boy and, with Leverkusen looking to get Leno on a longer term basis (and Adler looking to leave), there is a good chance Yelldell finds himself possibly #3. If Adler stays and they buy Leno they will unload Yelldell.
Re: David Yelldell: Now at Bayer....on the bench....again. I am aware of that whole affair at the start of this season. I don't know what that has to do with what I said before.. why that would mean he would throw away the best paid contract he probably will have in his career, a bench role was always what he had to expected when he came to Bayer and that has not changed.
Re: David Yelldell: Now at Bayer....on the bench....again. If Adler re-signs and Leno leaves, I think you are right as long as Yelldell is #2. If they re-sign Adler and sign Leno, that will make Yelldell #3 and they are not going to pay him that much to play U23 ball. If that happens he goes.
Re: David Yelldell: Now at Bayer....on the bench....again. I don't think they are going to buy Leno AND re-sign Adler (because Leno will want to play and Adler has to many options to sign somewhere else to get himself in a situation where he might end up on the bench) but even if they do and don't want to pay Yelldell what they are paying him now as long as he has a contract it isn't really up to them now is it?
Re: David Yelldell: Now at Bayer....on the bench....again. It is hard to say right now what will happen. Adler is a loyal player and knows he is the #1 in Leverkusen. If Leverkusen finish in a UEFA spot and those courting Adler do not, I am pretty sure he re-signs. Also, Leverkusen are financially better off then the other clubs courting him, so there is that too. As for Leno, he is young and would almost certainly take a #2 spot with Leverkusen. Why shouldn't he? He could end up the Neuer of Leverkusen. And Dutt and Holzhaeser have both said: «René ist zusammen mit Manuel Neuer einer der besten Torhüter in Deutschland», sagt Bayer-Cheftrainer Robin Dutt, der am liebsten auf die Lösung Adler/Leno setzen würde: «Wenn sie wollen, können beide noch lange bei uns bleiben.» "Rene, along with Manuel Neuer, one of the best keepers in Germany," said Leverkusen trainer Robin Dutt, who would prefer a solution with Adler/Leno, "If they want, both could stay with us a long time." This sounds a lot to me like an Adler/Leno deal is not that unreasonable. And why would Adler stick around: 1) He won't go to HSV because, well, just look where they are, 2) Schalke has Faehrmann who has been doing well, and 3) Let's face it, Adler is 26, has been injured and did not exactly have a stellar year last year...so there are doubts out there about him. If Adler knows he is #1 at Leverkusen -- and he wants to make the EM team next summer -- he NEEDS to sign now with Leverkusen. Otherwise, Holzhaeuser will pay for Leno, start him teh rest of the season, Adler will sit the bench and get zero playing time and miss out on the EM. Adler his hardly in the drivers seat on this one. Contracts are dissolved all the time. If the handwriting is on the wall that David is only going to play U23 ball then they will call him in, tell him and the will mutually agree to dissolve his contract. If he doesn't, well, they can always bench him on the U23s and pay him out. That's fine if all you want to do is collect a pay check, but I suspect David wants to play. Besides, he does not seem the type to play that game.
Re: David Yelldell: Now at Bayer....on the bench....again. He already had the #2 spot behind a limited Ulreich at Stuttgart, could return, and oust Ulreich. Why should he sign a long term contract to compete with Germany's former #2 instead? That would be one of the most stupid career decisions ever. Leno is a great prospect, and probably could choose between 3 or 4 starting spots in the Bundesliga next summer. He would only sign with Leverkusen if they guarantee him not to sign with Adler again. Leno has always been more or less on eye-level with Gladbach's ter Stegen in the youth teams. Ter Stegen is a lock starter at Gladbach since spring, one of the best keepers in the league, and competing for a spot on Löw's roster for the Euros. No need to say "Hey, I'm young, being a backup keeper is good enough now" for Leno.
Re: David Yelldell: Now at Bayer....on the bench....again. Why would that be so stupid? First, Ulrich is having a pretty damn good year and is looking like he will be the #1 for a long time to come. Second, Ulrich is 3-4 years younger than Adler, making the liklihood of an Adler departure far more likely before an Ulrich departure. Third, Ulrich just re-signed through 2014 I think, making it even less likely Leno will see post time at VfB barring any injury to Ulrich. With Adler, at his age this is likely his last contract with Leverkusen. Leverkusen will likely be behind the scenes working to get his replacement lined up. Leno would be wise to listen. Apparently the SZ thinks it is a possibility too. It's not like he's going to HSV or FCA. THAT would be stupid. but going to a top 7 BL club who might play in UEFA that has an aging keeper? That's not stupid, that's called good career planning. Who? I have not heard of any otehr clubs after him. I have heard that he has a 5m Euro buy out clause that kicks in next summer. If VfB think they can get more for him, they will sell him this winter. If not, he walks for 5m. Not many clubs can pay THAT for a keeper. And so far I have not heard of any club interested beyond Leverkusen. Well, until this season no one thought enough of him to come get him from VfB either. Nor did VfB think enough of him to slot him with Ulrich. Wasn't he playing U23 all last year? Not saying Leno *has* to settle for a #2. Just saying that 1) don't see any big name club that can afford to pay 5m euros showing interest in him except Leverkusen, 2) taking a #2 slot at Neverkusen for 2 years and then taking over as #1 (at the tender age of 21) would not suck either and can hardly be considered a bad career move.
Re: David Yelldell: Now at Bayer....on the bench....again. SZ don't think anything; they just reposted a DPA article. Adler an aging keeper? He's 26. Enough said. I hadn't read details about their new "offer" to Adler yet. A reduced one-year-offer? That's too obviously not meant for serious. Of course he won't sign; that's just a political offer. To keep the talks going to get Stuttgart to reduce their price, to not lose Adler on a free without fighting for him,... In the end, Stuttgart will get some nice money for producing a good prospect; Leno will get a starting job; and Adler will get a nice contract at a new club. The only reasonable solution for all parties involved.
Re: David Yelldell: Now at Bayer....on the bench....again. Well, it's *one* reasonable solution. There are others just as reasonable. Whether you choose to see them as reasonable is a different story.
Was fortunate to be in Germany on business last week and saw B.Leverkusen - Valencia Champions League in person last Wednesday. A couple observations: 1. The team was awful for the first 35 minutes. Just absolutely horrible. Not checking back to the ball to receive passes. Runners and passers not on the same page. Kept losing possession and couldn't establish a rhythm. Looked like my rec league team. And throughout this display, the players were openly complaining to each other on the field by word and gesture. There was not a single leader to be found on the team. No one stepping up. Not Ballack, not anyone. I was embarrassed for the people around me who call themselves Leverkusen fans. Even considered leaving at the half. Wonder if something is rotten in the team dynamic at the club? 2. The starting keeper -- and his posts and crossbar -- kept them in the match through those 35 minutes. Some really outstanding keeping on multiple occasions from Adler. Only down 0-1 at the half. Yelldell has tough competition. Not as relevant from a Yanks Abroad point of view, but the home side found some balance in the match the final 10 minutes of the first half and then turned it around in the second. Looked like an entirely different team. No idea what triggered the turnaround. Kiesling applied tons of pressure as the lone striker up top in the second half. No goals but easily a man-of-the-match performance in my book. It was a critical match for their Champs League group as well, which makes the first 35min all the more baffling. Fortunately for B. Lev they are now in #2 spot in the group with 6 points with Valencia #3 at 2 points. (Chelsea #1 with 7pts, Genk #4 with 1pt)
Leno. And I agree with Lascho. Leno can start anywhere after what he showed, he won't be happy with being #2 at Leverkusen. I think Bayer will keep Leno and sell Adler since there are supposedly also concerns about Adler's back and durability. Also, go and read some Stuttgart forums, about 99% of their fans would rather have Leno back and start than keeping Ulreich. Ulreich is a very controversial figure in Stuttgart.
If Bayer want to keep him, it sounds like he will be expensive http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/...3/artikel_maeuser_leno-ist-ein-kronjuwel.html
It's ironic that the better Leno plays the more it will cost Leverkusen to keep him, and yet without him they suck.