Decent half. We've been the better team so far. We need to play less longball though especially that rain is a factor. Ekici.
I've been watching the gamecast from work and it looked like we were headed for another disappointing result. 15+ shots on goal, the lions share of the possession, endless corner kick opportunities and finally we break through at the end. Thank god.
Unfortunate that I missed this one. You know there was something a little different in Pedersons approach or his positioning in the Hamburg match as well and now the payola! He bought himself a moments grace in my book. Sleepy, what was the formation for this match? Besides Sketchi, who started in midfield? I think if Eks sh*t the bed again, with the opportunities he's had lately, he really needs to find himself a 2nd division team somewhere in Europe.
I don't think Ekici had a great game, but it was not horrible like some of his previous outings. The formation looked to me like a 4-3-3: ---------Lukimya--------Sokratis --Ignjovski----------------------Schmitz -----------------Junuzovic ----------Hunt-----------de Bruyne --Elia------------------------------Ekici ------------------Petersen Sokratis was heavily involved in the attack, both in the build-up, and staying up well after set pieces. Ekici drifted inwards heavily to the point where he was on the right side of the pitch every once in awhile. Junuzovic did well in covering for Sokratis but didn't have a great game offensively with several poor passes and giveaways. Elia was his usual blend of dribbling, some successful, some not. We really bombarded Hannover's goal all game long though and should have put one away earlier. As for Petersen, he was his usual self. Not involved in the build-up, but got a head or boot to just about everything in the box. He's so frustrating to watch, but he IS scoring at least.
I was impressed by Elia, he did really well on the right wing, his best match in green-white. Ignjovski was also strong and covered Elia back .
Great guys thanks. As they approach another meaningful match (Stuttgart) I wonder if this line-up will crack under the pressure again. I'm not sure on the bans but are Astro and Fritz back this week? I really don't like Juno in defensive mid role. If Fritz returns, that is solved. Iggy can stay at rb (although what happened to Selassie I'm not sure) at least he's got Poppa's confidence! Begrudgingly I will allow Hunt to play cm and have Juno fight for this position. I think Juno is a better fit for de Bruyne (fyi - Microsoft translator says Bruyne = "Dallas") if Dallas stays on in Bremen (I can dream can't I?). I have Elia and Ekici on equal footing for the time being, Elia being more in talent but giving Ekici the benefit of being relatively young yet. And something else to note is Elias past performances have been on left wing where Sketchi played last week. If they are going to suck at this position then I suggest they play Hunt there. You know if any of these guys would step up their self-confidence and show some signs of starting 11, I would even suggest benching (did I say that? I meant dropping him in a bathtub and shipping him up the Weser 'cause he stinks) Peterson and having Astro start as the cf. I like a gazelle at striker that packs a heavy right cross...it causes fear and thats what they lack since Pizza left. Lastly, I like the praise we are heaping on Pasta (the new Pizza!). Sokratis should be named the next team captain - German or not.
I don't know how Fritz gets back into the team. Dropping Juno would be a mistake to me. Schaaf just needs to play him in his proper DM role and don't give him any forward duties. At FB, Fritz not going to cut it either. The defense looks much improved with Lukimya and Ignovski. Lukimya is more athletic and physical than Prodl. He can cover for Sokratis better so he can push forward a bit. Been wondering for ages why Schaaf kept preferring Prodl. He's only good enough to be a back-up. Ignovski is the defensive cover you need to play behind Elia. Selassie too offensive. The line-up actually had De Bruyne wide and Ekici central. I don't see how Ekici would ever play out wide. De Bruyne has been wide the last two matches. Werder looked so good against Hannover it's hard to change that line-up even with Arno back. Probably you drop Ekici, move De Bruyne back centrally and slot Arno out wide. Ekici had some bad moments and some good moments. Very inconsistent player. The times I have seen Bremen this season at home they have been really energetic and seemed motivated by their fans. On the road, they seem flat and have been a bit unfortunate. Hopefully, they can get a run going now.
On the first part about Fritz I can understand the reasons, although I'm not convinced in Juno"s defensive effort (contrary to his performances with the Austrian Nats.) for Werder; i do agree that he needs to start every game because his upside is speed and tenacity - two things Werder hasn't had at dm since Frings was in his 20's. On the second part I thought there might be a mistake there. It didn't make sense but in my own defence I hadn't seen the last match and the previous Hamburg match did have Ekici central (what a horror show that was!). On the third part that is two thumbs up on Iggy at rb and one of those was Poppafuss his self! EE doesn't give props to a bowl of cold noodles, so I hope Iggy's up to speed on his bigsoccer. Now I wanna see what all the fussins about! I'm really huffin' mad at some of the lop-sided catastrophies this season but I will take heart if the defensive game shows signs of improvement and Schaaf finally makes way for someone new. What the hell, bring on Stinkgart!!
Stuttgart match should be interesting to see what Schaaf does tactically. Several teams have shown how to play Stuttgart: pressure their central midfield 3 and shut down Traore. I think Schaaf should play a midfield 3 of Juno, Bruyne and Hunt. Keeping Ekici there would not create the pressure you want. And he should start Ignovski. That side already needs defensive cover with Elia and especially so since up against Traore. Offensively, focus on wing play because Stuttgart's fullbacks suck. Molinaro/Boka are poor. Rudiger is a youngster. Sakai is the only good one, but I think he is still injured.