Tea Light in the Dark Universe: Bobby Wood at Hamburg

Remember he is a streaky player, didn't he go more than half a season in 2BL without scoring?

 

Sadly his knee issues have been around for a lot longer

 

His knee problems nearly caused him to be written off & released when he was at 1860, which was part of the reason for the bitterness of the split on their part. IIRC, people on this thread with some inside knowledge of 1860 were very pleasantly surprised when they re-upped his contract.

People bitch about his lousy stats, forgetting that he spent the last 6-7 of last season playing through a knee injury that would normally have seen him benched or even rested altogether. Admirable commitment to the cause in the relegation battle and all that, but it's never a good idea for a player with his particular injury history: there's a real risk of either reactivating the old injury, igniting a new injury in the same knee, or causing/aggravating term problems in other areas by putting excessive pressure there to compensate.

To be honest, if the emergence of Arp, Ito and Knoll means HSV don't need him to start and go 80-90' every game and put him on the bench for a while, that could be for the good. The winter break is starting in 6 games, which will give him a chance both to rest a bit and regain his place at end-January.

On top of that, Cologne are surely doomed already, and if Bremen/Aaron don't start scoring like a sailor on shore leave real soon they'll be cut adrift as well. Only two go down automatically, and the BL1 team has won the playoff six out of seven times since it was introduced. With Freiburg looking like they always do - feisty bantams who are a bit short in this division - and Wolfsburg and Mainz not looking too healthy either, with some good results between now and the break, HSV will have a little more room to rest/rotate Bobby than they did last season.

 

HSV Twitter fired up: "Fiete Arp and Bobby Wood both start at home!"

Mit Fiete Arp und @BobbyS_Wood von Anfang an ins Heimspiel!
Unsere Start11 für #HSVtsg: Mathenia, Diekmeier, Mavraj, Douglas, Wood, Papa, Hunt, Kostic, Sakai, Jung und Arp. #nurderHSV pic.twitter.com/5j0oXqETCe

— Hamburger SV (@HSV) November 26, 2017

 

Interesting, it looks like Bobby is in the #10 slot in a 4-2-3-1 behind Arp, who gets on the end of a cross after 5 minutes and forces an own goal to put HSV 1-0 up.

 

luc2003a tweet on Wood a few minutes ago...

"Wood spielt gut"

Looks like he just hit the post early in the 2nd half... bummer.

 

Winning a lot of challenges in midfield and providing some holdup play. Turned a defender and smashed a half volley off the left post from outside the penalty area.

 

I've been watching since the 30 minute mark. Wood is dropping a bit deeper, almost like a 10. I thought he was kind of sluggish in the first half (Altidore-esque), but he had a very nice strike that hit the post a couple minutes ago. It looks like the field is quite heavy, so maybe that's wearing on him.

 

bobby looks injured... running with a noticeable limp

and he just missed a 1 on 1

 

Served on a platter to Wood at the penalty spot, but weak left footed effort floats into the labonza of the keeper.

 

Wood gets a pass at the spot, but shoots straight to keeper...

 

Bettr formation. At least Hamburg giving themselves a chance. Still a lack of quality in the midfield. Bobby had a great chance to close it out, to no avail. Arp is lively.

 

Good chemistry between Wood and Arp on the counter.

 

from a half-look at the kicker tracker seems like Hamburg with tons of pressure and chances, but no goal - which seems to me to assure they get hit on the counter soon. (cynic!... but, that's me...)

 

Wood wins a free kick on the counterattack, which Kostic scores while Hoffenheim is dicking around instead of setting up a wall.

 

2-0 Kostic from a FK

(I'll leave it to @naopon from here out, we're double posting.)

 

That dicking around will get you into trouble every time.

 

Wood - and I - are out. 2-0. 84 min.

 

Jung knocks home a loose ball after some chaos from a throw-in.

Hamburg with a big 3-0 win over Hoffenheim. Bobby will curse his point-blank miss, but overall a gutsy performance with a team-high 6 headers won, 81% passing, 3 shots on goal and 3 fouls won. Gisdol comes out looking smart for finding a way to effectively utilize his struggling striker.

 

Yeah i think this formation will stick around for a while (at least as far as Wood and Arp are concerned).....Wood can make late runs and let Arp take the beating up front.

When Arp came on the scene, it looked like it might be bad news for Wood....but it actually might be just what he needed.

Being the 1 striker in a 1 striker formation - in front of a midfield that cant create much - is very difficult. It would be difficult for Lewandowski or anyone.

Maybe the USMNT can learn something from this too.....a 1 striker formation with an uncreative midfield is a recipe for frustration.

 

You funny. You know we were 'this close', right? We don't need to learn anything.

 

well the USMNT has put Wood out wide (same with jordan morris) when they havent had him up top (which I dont think he is suited for)...maybe he is better in the middle of the 3 in a 4-2-3-1 if he isnt up top (as his backup position).

 

This is a really bad attitude to carry in general but especially when it comes to our qualification failures. I recommend that you adjust it as soon as possible.

 

I was pretty sure @laxcoach was making fun of comments made by Bruce, Sarachan, etc. Am I wrong?

 

yea.....i get the sarcasm in that....we were only a few inches away.