actually this already started in the early twenties... Führer-speech at the lake in 1922 f.e. had a secondary home there around 1931, also Himmler... in the vernacular the lake was called 'Lago di Bonzo' with 'Bonze' in German (actually this is a Japanese word I just learned) always used derogatory for capitalists, high officials, political profiteers in the last years Putin's daughter was also frequently seen with the presidential guard in tow anyway, back to topic, Scally seems to feel well:
On the bench for a friendly: Unsere #FohlenElf für den Test gegen die @Schanzer 🐎#DieFohlen #BMGamTegernsee pic.twitter.com/gGYuV5Q0GP— Borussia (@borussia) July 26, 2023
most likely eleven new players in the 2nd half they play vs. Ingolstadt with three Americans on the roster
Lainer, Scallys main competition in the team, has been diagnosed with cancer. Awful news and I’m sure we all wish him a safe and speedy recovery. This will likely have a big and direct impact on Scally’s season.
oh no, Lainer out for months! lymph node cancer diagnosis! (early stages, prognosis fortunately optimistic) I wish him all the best, much strength and full recovery, Stevie is a fighter, that's for sure! RB position now means: Scally and Walde (totally unexperienced, joined Borussia at U9 level, some say he has enough talent for more than filling the roster) all this now makes Scally the elder statesman at LB/RB yesterday Seoane tested Joe as right defender in a back three, with Walde in front of him but most likely there will be a transfer (maybe on loan) however, currently a lot of fans are completely taken aback from the bad news... and this certainly applies even more for all people at the club who know him better than we do
no replacement for Stevie Lainer according to the club looks like a lot of work for Joe this season...
Scally is being kept safely in reserve for today's friendly v 1860 Munich. I see a second friendly (scrimmage) v VfB Stuttgart to follow.
Started in friendly: So beginnen #dieFohlen gegen @MontpellierHSC! 💚#BMGMHSC pic.twitter.com/sBUHJjFAWT— Borussia (@borussia) August 5, 2023 2-2 in the 77th. Match is on ESPN+. ETA: Was pulled to the sideline to evaluate a shoulder injury. Back in after a couple of minutes.
4-0 vs this fifth division opposition by the half. Scally with a hockey assist on the fourth - intercepts a ball and plays a vertical ball up the wing to Honorat, who cuts back a pass to Cvancara whose awkward shot from the top of the box bounces in, perhaps luckily. Not as dominant from the pieces of the match I watched as one might thing, but 4-0 is 4-0 and they ain't conceding 4. Scally as a typical 4-2-3-1 right back.
Finishes 7-0. Played the full 90. Moved to RWB in the 2nd half when Gladback went to 3CBs. Solid performance. Nothing terribly flashy but solid. Not sure you can take all that much from it given the opponent though.
Important year for Scally. He’s one that started off strong at a young age but hasn’t shown a lot of improvement over the last few years. He doesn’t have blazing speed to fit the mold of most CL level RBs or LBs which he makes up for in the rest of his game, but the rest of his game needs to get better to reach that next level. I’m not expecting much improvement this season since it feels like this is his level but sometimes we see players suddenly jump in form.
1st the disclaimer; I haven’t watched him play a lot and when I do it is hard to pick home out ‘cause Gladbach is one of those teams where all the players seem identical. But he’s still 20 (for a while) and his BL career is 2 seasons old so ‘last few yearS’ seems a little off. And last year his minutes per game went from 63 to 79 as basically a player involved in every game for which he is available. that feels like progress for a player with 63 first team appearances at his age.
They are different players but to me Scally has Cherundolo-like career written all over him. His game doesn’t leap off the page. He doesn’t do a lot of things exceptionally well. He just does a lot of things correctly, effectively, and efficiently. Coaches absolutely love these types because you can trust them. They are predictable. As a result, Scally will always have a place in the team. He’ll always have a job.
Imalways thought he was built (physically and mentally) to be more of a DM in the modern game. But he is a solid FB. He now puts in some nice balls from the wing. The only thing he lacks is the sprinter speed that so many top flight FBs have these days.
after pre-season it seems that Seoane likes variability a lot and plans to frequently switch between back four and back three (between and within matches) this could work as a roll: Netz moving forward (because of his weak defending) while Scally would become the right CB (being capable for both jobs is quite an asset because not that common... still: there is room for improvement in duels/tackling for him) either way: Honorat in front of Scally seems to be a more aggressive (and therefore more supporting) player than Hofmann I'm still wondering what the club is planning on RB position in case Scally isn't available: Walde doesn't got many minutes and most likely isn't ready, Jantschke played RB but that was in the ice age (and he's injury prone), Elvedi also would be an option but is on the move... [it is rumored that Gladbach found a backup for center Cvancara... most likely another American: Jordan Siebatcheu who fell into a hole at Union]
less than twenty minutes to go... back four it seems: Scally playing alongside Itakura and with Honorat in front of him motto of the day: resurrected from the ruins (I hope)
3-3 at half-time Gladbach clearly more goal-driven and speedy than last season but still huge problems in defence... Scally not good, Netz super bad
I think both goals came from the other side and the penalty was also from the other side. Why is he not good?
4-3 Augsburg now in the 77th minute. All four goals down Gladbach’s left side (opposite Scally), including the won PK. Though on the fourth, he was mildly culpable (probably 3rd or 4th worst at fault) due to a poor clearance on a tough play — though Gladbach were shambolic defending the ongoing scramble. I think Scally has been his typical solid self.
that was a ‚showpiece‘ of bad defending, there was instability all over (incl. the two defensive midfielders) and Scally (I predict a ‚5‘ from some ‚experts‘) in absolutely no way was a bright spot guess chances for back three from start are growing… and this could flush Netz and Scally out of the starting line up… but sometimes coaches (see Farke) are very obstinate in what they are doing ;-) then again we should give them some time being two goals ahead two times should be ample for a win, at the end the one point was lucky there was too much of sameoldsameold (but also a few positive things) … I’m off, my nervous system needs to catch some sun after this...
may sound odd given the result and the position but overall Scally was better than in Augsburg... absolutely and relatively (in comparison to the other defenders) Frimpong is real class and some say L#kusen is able to attack top of the league (of course they will not succeed because their nickname is 'Vizekusen') at the end Borussia got what almost everyone expected; fair to say that L'kusen (contrary to Augsburg) could afford to roll in neutral in 2nd half overall defending is still the weak spot