"Yes and no" refered to CJ and not to you. In fact I didn't say anything about your comment on the game as I can't judge on it, but it sounds very reasonable. CJ OTOH commented on more than just the game and in 80% of my replies I was refering to that part.
Olaf, I don't find it necessesary to study the chemical makeup of each segment of your smokescreen to know that you were searching for a way to cover the fact that you did not watch this particular game. Your standard of evidence to assert your opinion is lower because you do not get to see the games. This is a shame since I consider you a knowledgeable observer of the game but your assertion that your extrapolation of a highlight show is superior of someone else's live observation is simply ludicrous. My comments on Sanneh's (and FCN's) play are based on having watched the game first hand in the stadium (as well as a numerous of their other games both live and on TV since Augenthaler took over). When Augenthaler is replaced by a better coach, Sanneh and the rest of the team will be able to play closer to their potential. US fans wonder why Tony played so well in Korea but is matching it at FCN. The US team was a tight group who played hard for each other and for a coach they respected. FCN is a group of strangers going through the motions for a coach they don't respect. Within that system Sanneh is doing what he can to help the team which often means doing the dirty work to keep them team from being embarrassed each week. When you are the guy doing the "dreckarbeit" each week, you are not always at your best, especially when that is not your game. Tony's stinker against Bremen is a prime example. I only comment on matches I've either seen live at the stadium or on TV and defer to anyone who has watched a match live. Why? Because in the stadium you get the broad view of how how the team holds its shape, who runs well off the ball and when, and a myriad of other factors the all-too-focusing TV cameras just don't show. Watching the game on TV is next best and highlight shows are a distant third.
Kicker article, also focussing on Sanneh: AUGENTHALER’S PROBLEM: MANY KEY PLAYERS ARE WEAKLING The term ‘standstill’ is negative and for many it is the same as a step back. That way it is clearly formulated criticism when goalie idol Andreas Köpke is talking about standstill in Nürnberg. Indeed, the club is constantly inconstant and partially the defence is too bad for a Bundesliga team. The numbers: 12 goals against – together with Cottbus and Hannover worst of the league. 51 permitted chances are sole “top” position – 1860 Munich, the second worst team in this category just allowed 39. Short: Andreas Köpke’s opinion doesn’t allow contradiction. The question remains: who is to blame for the standstill? The popular automatism that the coach is responsible? “The coach is always responsible, this is his job”, confesses Klaus Augenthaler. But: also the players have to accept responsibility, especially if they are so called ‘top performers’. And this exactly is the critical point in Nürnberg. The players of this category are too inconstant in their performances to be a support for the team. We’re talking about Tomasz Kos (though convincing against Bayern), Tommy Svindal Larsen, Dieter Frey and Anthony Sanneh. Latter one (kicker average rating 4.5 so far) has everything: size, speed, is strong in the duels. Just, what’s the use of it, when the 31 year old, who recently demanded the job of the defence boss, on and on again shows rough concentration mistakes? Look at the recent game against Bayern. Though responsible for Ballack in standard situations, the US national player allowed two meter distance to him at the free kick, which Ballack used for scoring the first goal. An example that’s representative for most of the club’s top performers. And this is having a fatal effect for a team, which – according to Augenthaler – can only reach their aim “if without exception all are getting close to their top performance”. He doesn’t want to understand it as bad perspective for the road game in Wolfsburg. “In training the single wheels often work together without problems. Why not on Saturday?”