Wow, I just thought you had an insane problem with MSV Duisburg or something. What a weirdly hilarious post. Also, isn't Bobby Wood like 19?
Decent article, though j hate when game evals don't stay in chron order. Also, he missed a cool irony in that Schaeffler, the guy who scored for MSV, is actually a hard-luck striker on loan from 1860 who was nearly suspended by the coach for this match for going in hard on a challenge in practice. More ironic is that he was sent to Duisburg to get game experience and hopefully score more; something he had done only o e time previous to yesterday's game. I think we will see Wood more up front. His competition (Rakic) missed a few shots and the patience of the coach is near an end with him. We simply are not scoring and we cannot continue to give up points.
18 year old striker getting first team action with 1860? Bobby wood is kind of a big deal. I bet his apartment smells of mahogony and he has many leather bound books.
Benny Lauth, 1860's first choice striker, has turned down a contract extension today. His contract is up in the summer and 1860 have to sell players or find more money from a new sponsor in order to make a better offer, as the club is under a strict financial plan and cannot afford any unplanned increases in operating costs....such as a higher salar offer to Lauth. This may impact Wood in that, being on the pro team but playing on an amatuer contract, Wood will likely be offered a pro contract by 1860 this summer. HOWEVER, given his current status it could also happen that another team is interested in him and, as an amatuer, he could sign with anyone he wanted to. If that happened then the purchasing club would have to pay 1860 a "finder's fee" but NOT any transfer fee which would normally be paid to a player under contract. Not saying that anyone is looking to snap up Wood right now. But 1860 have lost a great number of youth players in the past 7 years, several of whom, like Wood, played at 1860 for many years only to leave the club without decent compensation for development.
No, I don't think that is likely. He is their leading scorer and, without him, they might be in a relegation fight. With so many games to go the club will have to take a chance that he will sign with them in the summer. He grew up in the club so they are likely hoping to appeal to his loyalty that he resigns. But if someone else comes with more money he will go....just like anyone would.
Report from the 1860 website. They played a 4-4-2 with a diamond mid. Wood played on the outside. Posted a small synopsis in the 1860 thread here.
Bobby got subbed in right at the end of their match today. Just a couple garbage minutes, really, but still cool that he is getting close to real PT with the first team.
Rakic should have been taken off WAY ahead of that. Duesseldorf played a double-6 midfield and was VERY weak on attack and their defense had HUGE holes in it. A 4-2-3-1 with Wood going in for Lauth late might have changed things a bit. We needed more attack and our poor double-6 mid, along with the weak play of the wingers, really hurt today. Rakic has 88 minutes to impress and he did not. I would not be surprised if Bobby starts seeing more time in the near future. Rakic's excuses are drying up and Ludwig has had his chances to show what he can do. I suspect Rakic will start a few more times and, unless he shows a few assists or goals, my guess is Bobby will start to see a bit more pitch time.
From what I gathered talking to a guy who's more familiar with Rakic's "body of work" throughout the whole season, he's been completely worthless since the first few games in August/September. Considering that Rakic & Wood were the only real forward options on the bench last weekend and Wood was the only one this time around I think you are correct. Hopefully he'll grab the most of whatever opportunities come up, even if they are largely due to the ineptitude of the scant few other options at the coach's disposal.
Let me say first that I am no fan of Rakic. When they bought him I could not fathom with Cooper on the team. I would have MUCH rather seen KC on the pitch but he was too expensive for the club. That said, I don't think he has gotten a fair shake. He was playing fine until he hit a dry patch and he got benched. Now he is only getting spotty playing time to work through his form. Meanwhile Lauth was allowed to work through his dry patch. No right. As for other forwards, Ludwig had his chance for the last several games but not really cashed in. Volland is getting more time but he was sold to Hoffenheim and the club, while needing his services, will likely err on the side of playing other guys they do own IF they are producing. Wood seems to be the only striker who 1) does not have a pro contract, and 2) who's contract is not up in June. 1860 has no strikers who are under contract after June (other than Rakic), so it will be interesting to see who gets played. My bet is Wood sees increasing playing time. I said back in summer I thought he would get his break-through this year. I remain hopeful he will.
http://www.tz-online.de/sport/fussball/tsv-1860/bobby-wood-schalke-koeln-interesse-tz-1118051.html Schalke and Köln apparently interested in Bobby Wood.
VERY interesting, thanks. This brings up the classic debate between; is the player better off with a club like 1860 where he will play immediatley, or jumping to the bigger club where he trains and competes against better players? In this instance I think I would prefer to see him play at 1860, a club that obviously knows how to develop players. The other side of this though is their obvious financial problems, if they get a good offer are they going to jump at the chance? Or even with their financial concerns, would it be in their best interest to play him and hope the price goes up? Anyone more knowledgeable want to clue me in? Also F Magath, I would prefer Cologne or pretty much anyone else.
loewenboy, why isn't 1860 signing their best youth players to professional contracts prior to breaking into the first team. Is it a case of the team being interested but the player and their agents wanting to see what other offers are available?
LOL....was just about to post that. They state that Wood is under contract through 2012, but I am pretty sure that is an amateur contract and not a pro contract. Unless 1860 has signed him to a pro contract which went unannounced, I am pretty sure he is not under a pro contract yet. If my assumption is correct, that would mean any club could pursue Wood and sign him to his first pro contract without having to pay 1860 a transfer fee. If would is truly under an amateur contract still, I believe that entitles him to sign a pro contract BEFORE his amateur contract expires as long as the purchasing team agrees to play 1860 a "development fee". Such fees are usually FAR less than a standard "transfer fee". I further understand that 1860 cannot refuse to release Wood if he is only under an amateur contract, so if Bobby wants to go he can go. I have been a loud critic of the current 1860 sport director for failing to sign promising amateur talent to pro contracts before introducing them to the first team. We have lost a few players in a similar manner which has cost the club untold amounts of money. We lost national team prospect Moritz Leitner to Dortmund for a very paltry sum. If we lose Wood in a similar manner I will be exceptionally pissed.
Just this: Don't sign for Magath's Schalke. There's nothing worse for a young talent than signing for Schalke at the moment. That used to be different but Magath has extremely changed this club and the risk of being forgotten somewhere in the Regionalliga would be quite high. Cologne could need a player like Wood, their team is lacking speed.
That much I know, I edited my first post to say F Magath. From what LB is saying, the sporting director sounds like an idiot. With the financial hardships the team is under, it seems obvious that the clubs in B1 are going to be circling like vultures and these kids on amateur contracts are sure to be snapped up.
Good point [repped]...you beat me to the answer. See above. See Freddy Adu thread for the answer. Seriously, Wood would be better off playing at 1860 or some other 2.BL side. He does not need the pressure of constant promotion/relegation which you would have at Koeln or 1860. Now, should Koeln get relegated this season, it would be interesting to see how they restructure their team for next season. They have a decent side and Wood could develop well there. Schalke? Naw, with all the old men and "big names" on that team he might not see much playing time. Magath is a good coach and does use youth when he can, but that club is under financial pressure as well as fan demands they make Europe next season. Both issue pose huge problems for that club. See post above....I don't think 1860 have much control on this one. Cat=out of the bag. Magath is a decent coach. There are worse out there. Not sure how much better Frank Schaefer is.
I hate the d*ck, but signing these kids is a double-edged sword. With little cash flow it is hard to sign new players, even cheap, new talent like Bobby. BUT, you can ALWAYS sign contracts with clauses that get creative on payment schemes. There is nothing stopping the club from drafting a contract that says sign through 2012 at x amount, if you play 10 games that increases to x+y, etc. There is ALWAYS a solution. But to bring up talent and NOT have them under a pro contract is freak'n Russian Roulette. We did that before and got burned. We are doing it now with Wood, Schindler, Ziereis and a few other kids. Not smart.
Thanks for your info A+ as always. As for Magath; when viewed through my red, white and blue colored glasses, he is dead to me.
What a tough situation, damned if you do, damned if you don't. Like you said though, you can't let those assets walk. One thing is clear, you sir are a true fan to stick with your club through times like these. I would rep you more if I could.