I think a lot of squads in the Bundesliga have improved this season. Can't say the Swabians have ....
The first round of the 2014/15 DFB-Pokal begins this weekend. VfB Stuttgart will play against VfL Bochum at the Rewirpower Stadium in Bochum on Saturday 16.08.2014, 15:30. Important to start the new season on a strong positive note. Team has been busy training this week in preparation for Saturday. New signing Filip Kostic is also expected to make his debut.
Match Day 1: 1-1 draw away at Moenchengladbach. Maxim replaces Kostic and scores a well taken goal. We also had a goal taken away in the first half for reasons I'm still unsure of (because I was watching in Russian). We wavered between looking good and looking average. Schwaab had an excellent last ditch tackle. Borussia were lucky to get anything from that game. Bad luck, but it's not an away point to be embarassed about. Ibrahima Traore had a completely undeserved yellow, but I don't care because screw that guy. Next four matches are crazy. Need to win the home fixtures (Cologne and Hoffenheim) because we've somehow drawn Bayern away and Dortmund away as two of our first five matches of the season.
As unpredictable as the Bundesliga is I would not be completely shocked if VfB finished in the top 10. Last seasons squad seriously underachieved, maybe this season's will do the opposite?
I think there's a clear top 5 in terms of quality: Bayern, BVB, Schalke, Leverkusen, and Wolfsburg. After that everyone's pretty equal, except for probably Paderborn. I still think Stuttgart can finish 6th and qualify for Europe this season, but it would take some great coaching and good luck to make it happen.
I finally got around to watching this. What a blow to lose the victory at the 89 minute mark! There were long stretches, before the first substitutions where we looked the better squad, but they had a lot more chances than us - including a should-have-been tap in by Hrgota and another called back by a borderline offside call. (Our goal was called back for a push by Ibisevic, BTW). After the subs, they had the better chances, with Hazard and Kramer always looking dangerous. That's when our defense had trouble getting back on the counter attacks. Rüdiger is going to get burned many times this year. He just makes too many mistakes. We looked tentative, making a lot of safe passes behind teammates to give them time and space to collect. Gladbach also looked very lazy in the defense, dropping back even in their own half. 1-1 was a fair result for a first match. The positives were that our defense looked more organized than last year. Ibisevic got good service from Maxim and Sakai - although Sakai's crosses were rather weak. Romeu looks to be a very good addition that makes the players around him better, sorry Kvist. I could see a top-half finish if the team gets sharper and doesn't give up half-way through the season. Let's aim for no manager changes this season, and we'll call it a moral victory.
Well, another season, another shitty start. After 4 matches, Stuttgart are in the bottom of the cellar, with only one point to show their 'efforts.' Lack of scoring, a midfield weak as water, and the defensive spine of a jellyfish have the fans up in arms! Team management, and Bobic in particular, have wreaked their havoc, with their lack of ambition, for far too long. Picking up mediocre players on a free, every now and then, is not the way to build a winning team. How good Veh is as a coach - with the lack of quality starters (& depth) he has to work with - we'll soon find out, if we haven't already.
Bobic out, according to several reliable sources. To be confirmed by the club before the match today.
http://www.stuttgarter-nachrichten....nnt.2e1a3358-9821-4d2d-bbe0-afe9184b4e98.html From STUTTGARTER-NACHRICHTEN.DE:
It's already posted to the club's official Facebook page, so Fredi is definitely out. I don't know how much blame he really deserves. His signings weren't that good, but I also think he was generally given very little to work with.
I still don't understand why he was given so little to work with. I know that the stadium expansion/renovation caused some funds to dry up, but with the sizable fan-base, and near capacity crowds it appeared to me that VfB were only going after players on free-transfers - and not necessarily very good ones, either. The quality is just not there, nor is there any good depth on the bench. Next up: I would think that the Board has to share in the blame, but will they also take a hit? I don't mean firing all of them at once, of course, but that also ties in to the fact that Bobic wasn't given much in the way of resources to build a credible team. We'll see, said the blind man...
Statement from VfB management: http://www.vfb.de/en/aktuell/meldungen/news/2014/fredi-bobic/page/3303-1-1-.html?f2
There was no way that match was going to end with us winning. We were 2-0 up, how could we possibly win? I hate Sven Ulreich.
I didn't see the match, was it really all on Ulreich? I know up to this point he hasn't covered himself in glory, but he's had an inconsistent defense in front of him, too.
What hypocrites represent the VfB board? Why don't these persons have the guts to tell Bobic his dismissal personally? This reminds me of a similar farce in Nuremberg a couple of years ago concerning the firing of Hans Meyer.
In the Stuttgarter Nachrichten today: http://www.stuttgarter-nachrichten....rry.df4e5388-68cd-4b43-ad03-a2c43f50f8a4.html
Glory Hallelujah! VfB won a match! They eke out a 1 - 0 victory over Hannover to get, just barely, above the relegation zone.
Was at the stadium yesterday, the ultras were amazing. Had several good signs, we're extremely loud with numerous different songs all match and plenty of flags, confetti, dancing and partying. Stuttgart played well and didn't look like a team at bottom of table at all. Hannover offered nothing and sat so deep with no pressing, they didn't even want to go for a goal. Hannover's tactics were embarrassing for a team at top of table, set out for a draw and almost got it. Bobic is a difficult case. He was given little to work with, but his signings were questionable as well. When 4 trainers struggled to do anything with the team it is time to start questioning the roster. All of those trainers couldn't be that bad. I think things will be ok and stabilize with Veh. I'll try to post pictures when I get back from trip.
That was pretty remarkable. Looks like Wahler gets a second chance. Let's hope he sees that achieving a cheap mid-table finish is not a long term survival strategy. Better to see them attacking now, rather than "Niemals Zweite Liga" at the end of the season. EDIT: It's worth noting that 33 pkt/37 spiele is Wahler's record, not Bobic's.