Bundesliga 2022/23 - 27 EURO finalists play in the best league in Europe

You know... I always felt Islacker a far better 2nd choice/utility forward within a strong team, than a first choice focal point for less talented teams.

Part of strong Duisburg and Frankfurt teams, Islacker would constantly provide important goals as a replacement/support option for names like Grings, Popp, Nagasato, da Mbabi, etc... resulting in being part of wining leagues, cups, and famously a UWCL title.

And this why I feel her career probably peaked in 2016/17, part of Frankfurt side about to enter a period of the club transitioning towards being a midtable team, but still possessing enough impressive talents to allow someone like Islacker to thrive.

A strong forward within the 1.Bundesliga, yes... a great career, yes... but I don't know if this alone allows her to be placed within the category of being associated alongside the games best players...

 

I know she's still only 22... but damn... Wilms has to learn how to become a more tactically disciplined defender, before she starts attempting the more complex strategies associated to the games modern offensive minded FB's...

But with this contract extension, alongside Wedemeyer, and Wolter, as solid RB options still being at the club, I'd like to believe this also confirms Wolfsburg's intentions of deploying Küver in what will be her long term best role; this of course being a CB...

 

Even though she's fairly young, I feel like if you haven't developed tactical discipline by 22 then you likely never will develop it.

 

Bajings had a good season, but the leagues most underrated player is still Senß.... As she's consistently among the best in the league in the #8 role, with her playing style actually being incredibly similar to someone like Groenen.

With the possibility of another #8 like Lattwein missing the WC, I think Senß incredibly unlucky not to have been the first choice back up option for MVT.

 

Within the wnt's best style, I'm convinced Linder a better FB than both Kleinherne, and Anyomi. And I expect to see big improvements coming from Kossler and Corely next season...

What do you know what MVT wants... and why do you think it would have ANYTHING to do with factors within Minge's style of play...?

Minge top scorer for Freiburg this season, with 9 goals ZERO assists as a CM lol. Sorry... when you have players like Oberdorf, Lohmann, Magull, Däbritz, Leupolz, Lattwein in your mid-field, I don't see where the special treatment Minge see's with Freiburg, potentially correlates to the wnt...

 

So... after recruiting a questionable defender with Hansen, Bayern follow this by recruiting a CM best known for her name matching a genuinely world class female athlete from Australia...

I've seen Scottish Sam Kerr play... and I'd ask Bayern, after letting a multiple UWCL, 1.Bundesliga/League 1 winning CB/DM like Kumagai leave your club, you think the next best action is to announce the signing of... Scotland's Sam Kerr lol.

I don't get it... don't they have scouts, don't they have money... wow... Bayern barely escaped their UWCL group, and this is what they're building next seasons squad around..?

 

This is just the beginning, they have another 3 months or so to sign replacements for Kumagai and the others who left.

 

I was once a major critic of Rauch for a lot of the same defensive issues I currently see with Wilms... but at the age of 27, it's obvious Rauch has been able to develop the more demanding tactical elements of her game now, to the point it can often offset her still suspect physical attributes for 1v1 defending.

So it mainly feels like Wilms is trying to do too much right now, seeking to match the offensive effectiveness of what Rauch produces down the left, not realizing it's actually negatively effecting her team mates on the same side of the field, who are constantly forced to bail her out of bad situations.

I'm not sure what the coaches at Wolfsburg tell their young players right now, but it often feels like they either learn on their own, or don't learn at all. I just don't want to see Wilms receive a 2 year extension, and end up watching a younger Küver replace her...

 

An unspectacular RB/CB in Hansen, and then a Scottish CM Sam Kerr, aren't exactly the types of signings sending shivers down the spine of domestic rivals like Wolfsburg, and defiantly not doing anything to catch or overtake Europe's best either.

Remember, Bayern replaced Glas with Hansen, and now bring in a player who's nowhere near the quality of what they're losing with the departure of Kumagai, with us all knowing this seasons league success in huge part to them still having a spine of players built around the identity of the previous coach.

It leaves me knowing for certain, the moment you see a strong team lose strong talent, and then start replacing it with lesser options, it doesn't typically end up leading to further sustained success...

 

I don't rate Rauch all that highly either way. It's just one game but I thought she was quite poor in that recent huge defeat in Frankfurt, than again so were Hegering, Hendrich and Wilms. Unfortunately there aren't a lot of good German defenders or defensive players nowadays and I think we will notice that big time in the UWCL final and at the World Cup.

 

I feel like this topic of discussing senior level German defenders continues to be skewed by some truly awful player analysis taking place around the top table of German women's football...

Germany able to create numerous junior wnt's with at least one stand out defender each cycle, we've had to wait until Hendrich and Hegering in their late 20's early 30's before we've seen them able to establish themselves as the wnt's first choice partnership...

And personally speaking, seeing how good Germany CAN defend if you give these players a solid tactical approach that actually suits them, it makes me even more sceptical towards the belief there's not enough good defensive players for the top clubs/wnt to select from right now...

 

I can't speak on Wolfsburg's defending, as this obviously a multi national type of operation; but Germany with supposedly bad defenders, just went through a Euro's where they only saw two opposition players score past them, with both of these goals happening during the tournaments final match...

So maybe trying to attach the identities of Wolfsburg and the wnt together doesn't seem like the best idea, when neither team play like each other, with Wolfsburg likely only having 2 of MVT's first choice back 4 playing against Barca too.

 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
I’ve always felt like there was nice/unselfish passing chemistry going on with Bayern’s front players(Buhl, Schuller, Magull, Dallmann Lohmann).
That’s all going to go down to waste when the selfish Harder flies into town, And do you think Lohmann’s ever going to start again? lol
It’s the same crap over again like over at WOB with Brand & Wassmuth getting benched in favor of another Scandinavian monster /White walker type athlete like Jonsdottir

 

Weird move but totally expected as soon as they both said they were leaving Chelsea.

 

I think BIHFan might of been referring to the recent Wolfsburg stunning 0-4 loss to Frankfurt, and yes indeed, Hegering did start at CB in lieu of Jansen in that game so Stroot did have an near all-starting NT lineup in the back

Frohms
Wilms-Hendrich-Hegering-Rauch
Oberdorf

Do you know if Peloton going to sponsor the NT again?

 

I was refering to the recent 4-0 loss against Frankfurt, yes ^^

 

Oh my!

 

All this while conveniently ignoring the other rare occasions we've seen Wolfsburg play with 3 of their back 4 being German wnt regulars...

Everything I've seen about this game, actually says the match was won for Frankfurt thanks to their superior mid-field play. But fine... if this is the only time were going to determine the individual quality of the players on show, then Pawollek is the best DM in the world, Kleinherne is a defensive monster, with Freigang clearly vastly superior to Popp...

 

If I've been correctly interpreting the views of a 3-5-2 loving Straus, I don't think we'll be seeing a lot of Magull, or Lohmann, in their starting 11 next season. With Dallmann's long term injury practically making her a non entity for the remainder of her contract too.

I'd fully expect to see Bayern's women look this for most of next season...
------------ Bühl ----------------- Schüller ------------------
------------------------ Harder ------------------------------
Simon ------ Zadrazil ----- Stanway -------- Gwinn
-------- Eriksson ------ GPV -------- Tainara --------
-------------------------- Grohs -----------------------------

And I say this still being very confident Lohmann about to move up a level in status, demonstrating her credentials as a genuinely elite CM during the WC lol. She'll return home, to find herself even less relevant to her coaches plans...

 

This reads like is a very polite way of suggesting this another piece of highly suspect recruitment strategy from Bayern...

 

Time will tell.

 

I've been on repeat this season constantly highlighting potential major flaws with the direction Bayern appear to be headed... but with Frankfurt not pushing to make themselves better, and Hoffenheim content to be a feeder club, I think it's going to be in the UWCL where we'll see the true face of Straus Bayern next season...