I agree that Aogo and Kolasinac are better defenders than Fuchs. I also think that we may see Ayhan as the starting DM as soon as next fall. The way I see things stacking up: Out: Hildebrand, Annan, Fuchs, Hoogland, Obasi In (transfers and signings): Sam, Aogo In (from youth squads): Avdijaj (striker), Itter (right back) There are also a few more U19s that might make an impact down the line. People have talked about Sane, Multhaup, and Friedrich. There's also Max and maybe one more from the reserve squad. As is, we're already kinda stacked at quite a few positions. The only area of weakness is striker, and potentially CAM if Draxler is sold. Striker: Huntelaar, Szalai, Avdijaj, Boateng CAM: Meyer, Draxler (or his replacement), Boateng, Avdijaj Wingers: Farfan, Draxler, Sam, Goretzka, Meyer CMs: Boateng, Hoger, Goretzka DMs: Neustadter, Ayhan, Hoger, Kirchhoff RBs: Uchida, Howedes, Itter LBs: Kolasinac, Aogo, Max CBs: Howedes, Matip, Santana, Papa, Kirchoff, Ayhan I also think there's a chance we sell Farfan, and obviously a chance we sell Draxler. In that case, we'll have to make some significant moves in the market. Players like Volland, Drmic, Firmino ect, maybe even a guy like Kampl if we think he's up to the challenge.
Maybe I am wrong about Fuchs but Aogo though the years has been very poor defensively and Kolasinac was destroyed repeatedly in the last few weeks and also his positioning is bad. Also i like Fuchs' crosses. Matip IMO is horrible and complete unfit for a CB. Papa, IMO has the potential to a World Class CB and even way better than Howedes. He makes mistakes but his upper ceiling is very high. A few Schalke games and for Greece he was an absolute beast. I have never seen any Schalke Defender performing in that level. I don't know about so many Wingers though? Sam, Draxler, Farfan, Clemens (and Meyer if needed) are enough. Obasi will probably go. BTW why is Goretzka playing so right sided as if he is RM in the last few matches?
Matip is actually one of the highest rated players on our team according to who scored and kicker. On whoscored he's averaged a 7.43, which puts him above Boateng. I love Papa, but he has to sort out these injuries. I imagine Clemens might get loaned next season for that reason. Because of our injuries. Also, Keller doesn't trust him at CM yet.
If Aogo plays the way he had in his first months at Schalke, he will be our best LB by a mile. If he reverts to his Hamburg form, we will still have Kola available. Both are better than Fuchs at LB. Fuchs can't defend anything, he is a pure defensive liability which isn't what the team needs. I can understand some scepticism about Matip or his potential, because he is somewhat error prone, but he has been our best CB this season. Papa looked cooked the few minutes he played after coming back from his injury. It is hopefully just rust but he has a long, long way back just to reach his previous level. I don't really see much changes at least for next season. Everything beyond that is pure speculation anyway because so many things tend to happen in that time span. We need a RB to back up Uchida. Itter may fill that position. We could need a third striker but Avdijaj should fill that spot. And we need a new backup goalkeeper, can't see Unnerstall coming back. The third goalkeeper can be one of our youngsters though I'm not sure how much talent they have. Everything else depends on Draxler but the chances that he stays improve with every match he plays with his current form. I can see Fuchs leaving. Hard to see him accept his current role. I think Obasi will stay unless an surprising offer from another club comes in, I don't think Obasi or Schalke will be actively looking for that. Unnerstall should leave, there were already rumours he might stay in Switzerland, at Aarau or maybe even Basel. I can't see Hoogland getting an extension. The drop off in quality to the rest of the team is too obvious but maybe they see him as cheap depth. I'm 50:50 on Clemens. It is hard to argue against a possible loan but I can also see him and the club decide to write off last season down to injuries and take the new season as a fresh start.
https://twitter.com/11Freunde_de/status/448825699185356800/photo/1/large The text by 11Freunde below translate to: "From the series "Things every boss needs": "People holding up a scarf with your boss name"."
@Homa , I think Howedes can back up Uchida, especially considering all the cover at CB. Uchida, Itter and Howedes would surely be enough for RB.
I guess my assessment of Fuchs was wrong then. I liked when he was good a couple of seasons back. Kola is still way too raw and out of depth and needs a few years IMO. But there is definite talent in Kolasinac which can be clearly observed Aogo at Hamburg was really bad defensively, he might have improved, offensively he has always been great. Matip, I see no talent whatsoever. Never liked him. Santana part 2, no talent guy. Maybe he will become a stable average CB. Can't see the talent or the X factor around him. Hope he does for well for Schalke, Uchida has shown improvement and the team has grown. The whole team has grown and so has Keller, maybe not a lot but surely his coaching has improved too. Only one with limited growth is Roman in the DM position
Fuchs was pretty good in his first season with us but even then his defense was suspect and his offense carried him. As I wrote the question with Aogo is what his true talent is. Were the first months with Schalke just a time of very good form or was it more that Hamburg sucked the life out of him. Considering the abyss that the HSV is, I'm pretty hopeful for Aogo. Santana indeed is nothing special, he is only depth. Matip has a lot of things going for him. He is strong, good header, pretty fast, decent technique, positioning and passing. He is error prone which is why a lot of people don't like him. I get that but I think that is one area where players often improve with age and experience, especially as Matip comes across as pretty intelligent. It is no guarantee, of course. I don't know how good Itter really is at RB. If he has enough quality, I would have no problem going into the season with Uchida, Höwedes and him as RB options. Höger and Ayhan could also be played there if necessary. I'm not entirely sold on Neustädter either. He is too often too lethargic and lacks dynamic to be elite but he still brings a lot to the table. He is good at positioning and at intercepting passes. His passing game is quite decent, although he as one or two howlers in a game. You also have to keep in mind the way we play under Keller with a lot of emphasis on denying space rather than winning balls back in tacklings. That is especially true for our DMids. Yes, I think the team and Keller are improving. I don't have much doubts about the quality of our players, it is a really good squad compared to our history. Keller is still a bigger questionmark. Not necessarily if he can cut at the Bundesliga level, but if he can close the gap between us and teams like Bayern or Dortmund. He won't close it entirely, there is too big a gap in the quality of the players, at least compared to Bayern or Real, but there is still quite some room for tactical improvements. Keller's pragmatism gives me some hope there.
It is good to see that you guys have kept the FC Schalke board going on and it itself is branching itself into multiple threads. There was a time when people were against FC Schalke subforum because they believed nobody would post. Would be closely following your team in the Bundesliga. Good luck! And even though I haven't ever been able to catch Schalke much myself, what do you guys think of Goretzka? He was supposed to develop into a Ballack type player but there he is, being played as a winger/attacking midfielder.
He doesn't have the physical traits to be an elite winger, so his future is still as a center midfielder. He just needs to work on his defending and positioning. I'd expect to see him subbing in for Boateng next season, especially since we will have Draxler (or his replacement), Farfan, Sam, and potentially Avdijaj fighting for spots on the wings.
Add Clemens and Obasi to the least as they are currently contracted. First wait for them to be shipped out. BTW why is the poll there? It is a massive turn off. Everyone who wonders where the General Discussion is will find a poll thread about the season and go away. First impression is bad.
We can't edit thread titles. The only thing we could do is start a new thread. On a related note, we should be discussing all this stuff in the transfer thread, not the season thread.
Lineups for tomorrow? Boateng is suspended. Same injury list. Challenge: cobble together a starting 11 with these players... Huntelaar, Matip, Draxlery, Neustaedter, Meyer, Szalai, Gorezka, Kolasinac, Obasi, Annan, Hoogland, Ayhan. That's only 12 active field players, but we also have the reserve squad from which to pull players. Huntelaar Obasi - Meyer - Draxler Neu - Goretzka Kola - Ayhan - Matip - Hoogland I don't think starting Annan is an option, nor is starting Erdmann and option. I'm nervous about Goretzka at CM, but our only other options are Ayhan or Kolasinac, which would leave giant holes in defence. There's a very realistic possibility that we'll have to rely on Philipp Max or Edmann at some point in the match. What do we know about Sobottka? Is he an option at DM? I know he's never played a professional match, but the same thing goes for most of our bench.
The thing about Matip v Papa that doesn't get discussed much is that Papa is pretty awful with the ball, and is also uncomfortable playing a higher line. You all know I think Keller is an idiot, and have said so in this thread many times, but even if he is replaced by a capable coach you will need to learn to be comfortable and efficient when you're in possession. And Matip is a lot better at moving the ball, avoiding pressure, and getting back to cover when the high offsides trap fails. Papa fits better on a club like Leverkusen or Chelsea, who will bunker up deep and need their CBs just to knock the ball forward, rather than be able to take a back pass and comfortably keep the ball moving. I know they don't happen but a direct 1 for 1 swap of Papa with Wollscheid would leave both players in much better positions to make good on all of their potential. He's still insanely young. He was playing as a winger last year at Bochum as well and I'm a big fan. I got to see him in person when I visited family in Berlin and he was very impressive in person at a level he was comfortable at. His future is in the middle, but for now he has a plenty of work to do to harness all that talent into a reliable 8, plus Boateng has been very good in that position for them, so it makes more sense to bring the kid along slowly, letting him work on hi game while watching Boateng. The injuries are also a big part of why he's playing on the wing, if it was Boateng and Neu that'd been battling injuries all year and not Farfan+Draxler, I think we'd have seen him at the 8 some more.
Looks like Sane and Friedrich made the bench. Goretzka will play the 6 next to Neu. The average age of this starting 11 is 23.09 years old, which is one of the top 10 youngest starting 11s that have competed in the Bundesliga this seaosn.
How was everyone? Missed the match. Huntelaar can't stop scoring and Keller seems to get his shit right
The team looked good. Still a few mistakes at the back. Anyone have any idea about returning players for next weeks match? Papa?
I was on vacation so I missed the game but I'm glad we continue our good form. Europa League should be wrapped up with the win against Hertha, now comes the next milestone securing CL qualification. Don't know what is happening in Leverkusen but may it go on. I read that Papa, Farfan and Santana will join the team practise this week. At least Boateng should be available again Bremen. About Papa: He has to first regain his form. All the small injuries and breaks don't help. He is a player who relies heavily on his physicality and athleticism that is something which suffers in a long injury. I'm all in favour of selling him if a good offer comes in because we have a log jam at CB anyway. Btw how did Goretzka look in central midfield?
Pretty damn good, although it was against a Hertha team that hasn't exactly been playing well. He also moved up to right wing when Annan came in. I'd say our best performers were Goretzka, Obasi, Draxler, and Matip. Ayhan isn't ready to play CB at this level, and I'd worry about him against a Bremen attack that seems resurgent. Also, while Obasi had moments of brilliance, he still lacks consistency. But hey, these few games he's getting may make it easier to off-load him.
Can your really see Obasi leaving this summer? It is, obviously, possible but I find it pretty unlikely. He is a decent squad player providing depth. His contract runs out next year, so there isn't much money commited to him. I doubt anybody will offer much of a transfer fee, so a replacement might come more expensive. Bremens attack is only surging from abysmal to quite horrible. I won't worry much about them, especially as Ayhan played on painkillers because of his hamstring injury.
http://www.buer-total.de/buer-tv/vor-dem-spiel-gegen-bremen-kaan-ayhan-im-interview Here is a somewhat longer interview with Ayhan for people who understand German. I very much like his answers and how he presents himself. Comes across as pretty thoughtful and reflective. Statements I kept in mind: - He chose Turkey because it looked from his point of view like the DFB had lost interest in him. No more call ups or phone calls despite him playing a good season. - He prefers playing centrally, no matter if as CB or DMid but he can also play RB - His next goals are to become a regular at Schalke, then a key player. He doesn't think much further into the future, f.e. about a transfer - His role model is/was Steven Gerrard because he sees him as a complete player who can do anything, attack, defend, pass, score, tackle etc. There are a couple of other questions of which I don't remember the answers all that well, the usual suspects like how happy are you, how do your team mates help, how do they react etc.
The DFB honors Norbert Elgert, our U19 coach, as coach of the year. http://www.dfb.de/news/de/d-trainer...-elgert-als-trainer-des-jahres-aus/56969.html Really shows once again how important Elgert has been for our youth system.
Papa and Boateng should be back in the squad tomorrow. Looks like Meyer might be on the bench to rest his legs. Bundesliga.de's starting 11 is Fährmann - Hoogland, Papadopoulos, Matip, Kolasinac - Goretzka, Neustädter - Obasi, Boateng, Draxler - Huntelaar, but I'd be shocked in Ayhan doesn't play, either for Hoogland, Papa, or Goretzka.
Just wanted to say, Bremen used the same tactics Mainz used. This has become a trend over the last two years. A 4-1-2-1-2 with high pressure, high energy, and long balls seems to be our kryptonite with Keller. He needs to figure out how to counter against these kinds of tactics.