I think it's time someone started this thread. Favre is still our head coach, so winning trophies this season is out of the question.
My prediction - Second place about 15 points behind Bayern, CL last 16 and knocked out of the DFB Pokal by someone like Werder in the QF. New contract for Favre, Haaland constantly linked with EPL move. Rinse and repeat. Hopefully this will look very negative come May 21, but I am not hopeful.
This is the likely scenario, but the CL depends on the group we get. If we get a hard one, then we could get knocked out in the group. Very depressing at the moment.
Agreed... And for me that may be the best possible outcome in the current circumstance. I think we may finish 3 in our CL group (depending on the opposition) and finish lower then 2nd. For Pokal I agree.
Nagelsmann is a great manager. I don't think Leipzig had a better squad than even Leverkusen. It's just the lack of quality in their squad, which means they won't finish ahead of us, but with Favre you just never know.
With Reus injured and Sancho leaving, the attack is going to look to Brandt. He has a lot of potential, but he needs to become a leader and fulfil it. I am not sure he has it in him, but we badly need him. It's a big season for his career.
Brandt is great. I think he'll take on a bigger role in creating this year. But he can't be the only source of creativity in Dortmund. If Sancho leaves we need another source of creativity.
I dont think any team is better then us aside from Bayern either. But I still think Favre will make us lose points to bottom table teams and it could cost us the 2nd place
First friendly of the season and a 5-0 win. Some of pluses Brandt, Sancho and Haaland all looked very sharp and ready for the season. We played two teams each half. A mixture of first and second choice players. Raschal started in the second half. He got caught in possession a few times, but I like his movement to find space and he was brave to always offer himself for the pastt unlike Witsel. We played a 4-2-3-1 both halves. For the Americans Reyna played behind the striker. It was obviously very hot and the first day back, but some players will never have the right intensity or quality. I don't want to see Wolf, Witsel or Delaney anywhere near the Dortmund team.They just aren't good enough. Can played Centre back, but he can play midfield alongside Dahoud when he gets fit.
Test game against Altach ended 6:0. I only saw the last 30 minutes but I liked Meunier and Raschl and I think it's getting time for him to prove himself against BL level opponents. At times, he reminded me a bit of Weigl, potentially even a tad faster and elegant. Team generally looked lively and wanted to play football. Apparently, Bellingham had a good first game for us as well.
Although you may never know, Sancho doesn't sound like someone on his way out or unhappy ( translated, not direct quotes as I have those remarks only in German): "I like to play with this special group. We now have a couple of very special players and I'm very happy to be on the pitch with them. I was in their situation once, I know how it is coming up from the youth teams. I try to guide them, show them what is good and what's not so good."
PSG just beat Atlanta 2-1 with two late goals. However, seeing the difference between the way Atlanta went about it and the way we did, is why Favre must go. It's also why the likes of Witsel are never going to cut it. At the highest level matches have to be played with intensity, speed of thought and mobility.
The training match was nice, mainly getting to watch the team again and seeing what the newcomers have to offer. Bellingham in particular looks ready to go, and it was great to see Haaland, Reyna, Sancho and Co. enjoying themselves. Despite his misses, I'm kind of hopeful that Pherai will be a senior team player in the future as well. BVB's media department is apparently relishing every opportunity to rile up Man Utd Fan Twitter these days. These quotes were released around halftime: 🎙 @Sanchooo10 on the 45 mins v Altach: "I love playing with this lot. It is a special bunch. We've got some special young players coming up. I am really happy to share the pitch with them and guide them. I was once in their shoes, playing with the seniors. I am happy for them."— Stefan Buczko (@StefanBuczko) August 12, 2020 🎙 Sancho on the Pherai miss tongue-in-cheek: "In training we're defo gonna get him into shooting practice. Not acceptable!" #altbvb— Stefan Buczko (@StefanBuczko) August 12, 2020
Hopefully Sancho stays, but hopefully Favre learns a couple of things from Atlanta and Leipzig. You need to go out to WIN all your games from the start. Employing a half court press, with everyone in our own half is just too defensive. We cannot do that. At worst the team should be pushed up further and press 2/3 up the pitch. We need to be proactive and play with intensity. We need to pass the ball quickly. Anyone not capable of playing quick one touch passing shouldn't start.
Zagadou will sit out the rest of the training camp with his knee acting up again. Might be a good idea for Zorc to make some calls just in case...
This is bad news, because he has a lot of potential. We are struggling at the moment with almost half of what should be our first team out: Zagadou, Reus, Hummels and Dahoud. This means we only have one centre back fit at the moment.
Supposedly Daxo’s issue is not viewed as major, but it is concerning. Meanwhile Hummels is back in full training today, and I think Dahoud is getting closer.
Second test game was a 11:2 against Austria Wien. The offense had fun and it was enjoyable watching them with their pace and creativity but the goals against were perfect examples for the kind of struggles in defense we all know too well. I fear we are likely to see more of that in the coming season. Apparently from reports about training, Sancho's recent session focused on taking corner and freekicks. I've been pretty confident that Sancho will stay after the recent development but these training stories are just another indicator that the club definitely plans with Sancho. Nice trick by Sancho: pic.twitter.com/5pcptn7sQu— Malte²⁷ (@MartinOdeGOAT) August 16, 2020
There were a few worrying things about the friendly. 1. Akanji was still making silly mistakes. 2. Witsel just does not make himself open for passes, he is too static and too slow on the ball. He is not mobile enough. 3. It was a shame to see Witsel and then Delaney captain the side when both should be sold. 4. It was annoying seeing the team play Brandt as a false 9, when he should be getting experience and synergy with the midfield. Raschal looks like a prospect, he has the understanding of how a midfielder should play. Sancho looks us good as ever. I was not happy to see Raphael start in midfield but he was probably our best midfielder. The team looked a lot better playing the 4-3-3. In the first half the team sat too deep and there was too big a gap between the defence and the midfield. We currrently have too many midfielders: Witsel, Delaney, Brandt, Dahoud, Raschal, Bellingham, Can, Reyna and Raphael. We need to sell a couple. I would love it if Witself and Delaney were sold.
I think Favre just wanted to get everyone on the field and prioritize letting the youngsters play in their customary positions while reacclimating the team to playing with 4 at the back. Probably doesn't hurt to dust off a few weird ideas like Raphael in the midfield (hi Tuchel), I can see that happening if Dortmund needs more creativity there or need a more athletic defender at left back against certain opponents. Favre sounds like he has his mind set on 4 at the back for his primary setup, even though it diminishes some players' upsides. We'll see how it shakes out but the deep squad combined with several tactical options will hopefully lead to more consistent results.
The problem is Raphael put in the best midfield display. I don't think the back four diminishes any of our players upsides except Raphael. Though even he has had great success playing in a defensive back four at Portugal. The strength of this team is highly technical players: Raphael, Hummels, Zagadou, Brandt, Sancho are the most technically sound players you are going to find for their positions in the world. Then the likes of Dahoud and Reus are great technically too. The team would benefit from a high intensity quick passing game with good pressing.
Shaktar is a bad copy of Favre. They look like BVB in the last game against Hoffenheim Don’t get it how they managed to come so far. Strange club, come from the war zone in east Ukraine, play theirs home matches in Charkov, I think, played also in Lviv.
im very concerned about this year but I am a worry wart. I can say that because we are going to be fighting for table scraps that it may take away from some of the effort. People get bored when they realize they have no shot to win it and I can say that we wont come close to Bayern again. We lack energy and a coach who brings that energy. I wanted a disastrous end to last year to get him fired but oh well. That disaster may come this year with a group stage exit in CL and then eliminated in the Euro leagues quickly too. I dont want anymore disaster though. I just want to see those asshats from Munich lose. God I hate them.