The color commentator kept repeating that both teams were too slow in transition and needed to be more direct and aggressive. I thought Wes was one of the players actually doing that in this game. I think I have seen every minute he has played for Schalke and this was one of his better games. It reminded me of the way he was playing before he was forced to play out of position. Makes me think his growth was deferred a bit by having to do so. He clearly still needs to be more clinical in the final 3rd but he has shown a lot of potential in transition.
I so disagree! I think Paderborn is the definition of "bad, but fun to watch". Terrible: Mainz, Koln, Bremen. Meh: Hoffenheim, Wolfsburg, Schalke Usually good: Hertha, Dusseldorf, Augsburg, Freiburg, BMG, Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt, Always entertaining: Paderborn!! Union Berlin!! RBL, Bayern, Dortmund, fun. Schalke doesn't have the tools to deal with Mainz anti-soccer, though I think they could have tried having Kutucu and Raman on the field at the same time. I don't much care what happens this season in BL as long as Mainz gets relegated.
repped, but the kicker rating wasnt good because Schalke is in the running for Europe spot, Mainz is in running for relegation, and Mainz ran thru the Schalke midfield at will far too often. Had Mainz been better at finishing, they would have scored some. The commentator (since nobody believes me if I say it) on Fox said Mainz was the better team in the first half. The good news is that Wagner coached the telegraphy out of Weston's passes which used to make the whole Schalke team look bad, as defenders easily moved to defend the poor recipient who had no choice but to make the best of Weston's garbage passes and look like crap in the process.
Sunk so low? They’re 6th in the table, with 12 games left they have more points (34) than all of last season (33). Sure, 17-18 they somehow (Goretzka and Naldo) got 63, bit in 16-17 they finished with 43. [BTW, I’m predicting they’re point total ends in 3...so will go with 53]
You know, we used to hand our that award every year on this board. It was pretty cool. I’m too lazy to resurrect it but maybe I’ll try to remember at the end of the season.
#Wagner on @WMckennie:"Weston will train for the first time today since his thigh injury against Mainz. We will have to wait and see today. Otherwise, everyone apart from our long-term injured players will be able to play tomorrow."#s04 | #S04RBL— FC Schalke 04 (@s04_en) February 21, 2020 Questionable for this weekend's game against Leipzig
Sounds like a minor thing. We all know he heals quickly despite getting banged up relatively often. Perhaps a sub off the bench? They are really going to need him... He was one of the main reasons they were able to beat RBL earlier this season. They had him pressing high up the pitch as a winger. But there is certainly a good chance that he won't play and that will make him and Adams in that game. Fugg. What is wrong with these players?
Starts: Weston and Rabbi 😍#SchalkeUS🇺🇸 | 🔵⚪️ | #S04RBL pic.twitter.com/f2UqLH9R3i— Schalke 04 USA🇺🇸 (@s04_us) February 22, 2020
Again... the way he plays lends itself to getting banged up but I love the way he gets back on the pitch quickly. Meanwhile.... CP, Adams, Holmes, Antonee, Steffen etc.... makes for a ton of televised/streamed games that quickly become meh. To make matters worse Yedlin and Morales ride the bench and only the latter gets some garbage time.
Weston off at 55 min. He wasn’t good. Continuing to question his role with MNT. As an aside, Robbi Matondo is really bad and he shouldn’t be playing in a top 5 league.
He did. He came off bleeding in the last game and was called in to help hold the lead today. I expect him back in the starting 11 next week.
Yeah... a pretty poor performance from him. A lot of bad touches/passes and didn't do much on D. He has had enough minutes now in the midfield for the lack of scoring stats to really start meaning something. He is still young... but he has regressed a bit in my eyes. Lack of consistency overall and class in the final 3rd has me questioning his role with the USMNT too. He is looking more and more like a sub to me. One game you see reasons why he is highly regarded and the next he is meh to poor like he was today.
Good timing on his part. Nkunku is turning into some kind of player. He's having a wonderful season. I'm not, but not because he's been spectacular - there's just an absence of talent behind him.
I may be in the minority here but I think Wes actually improves Schalke a bit. He's running all over plugging holes and trying to get the ball moving forward. Is he a technical player? Nope. Is he a Bundesliga star? Hell no. Is he a decent player who puts in a lot of effort and can help carry the piano? Hell yeah.