spectators 'credited' first goal for Union to Scally... and Scally alone (however, the arrangement -if there was any- for such situations between GK and defender clearly sucked) Scally was also involved in 2nd and (like Reyna) 3rd goal: too late, too timid... but other Gladbach-players also lacked determination (Neuhaus above all) but maybe not in situations which led to goals... and grading often is nothing more than rating what part you had in the 'decisive' moments but '6' means 'dead loss' and this judgement simply is apeshit nonetheless: the 'team 'obviously still thinks that it's sufficient to 'play ball' but the gravity of Gladbach's situation just demands stability, structure, dedication, resilience... the basics there is no prize for soccer-beauty now ... when a ball drops dangerously in front of your goal like the 1st on friday you fire him towards the Olympic Stadium or the Bundestag... just like Union (they never try to play ball because they can't)... I still think that Joe theoretically is useful for this approach, more useful than some others so today it's Bayern: they won all of their 12 matches this season while Gladbach won none of the last 14? (I lost track) Bundesliga-matches while Borussia is still missing at least 2/3 of their offensive line media is desperately trying everything to create a feeling of 'suspense': some ridiculously far-fetched reasons why this could be the turning point for Borussia... and the Angstgegner-narrative of course: the unsurpassed 28 Bundesliga wins for Gladbach against Bayern (CB Elvedi has 7 alone +1 in the cup), Bayern's alltime low (on the road) 1,12 point average at Gladbach and so on... Bayern webpage is calling it the 'real clasico' and Kompany and Eberl are pointing out that the league table is meaning nothing when you leave the tunnel at the Borussia Park the thing is: at this stage more or less no one is believing these stories... I know seasonticket holders which have doubts if they should appear on-site at all ... it's a little bit like going to watch an announced plane crash... tough test for Scally and friends especially in defence, no doubt about that... those who come out smiling will be heroes ;-)
Scally (and Reyna) on the bench. Gladbach hosting Bayern Munich. Come watch the plane crash (or will it be a thrilling upset?).
I watched only about 10 minutes of the game. I tuned in around the 62nd minute with it 0-0, and Bayern immediately scored two goals. So Gladbach fans can blame me. When it was still 0-0, Bayern had over 80% of possession up to that point, with 17 shots to 0 from BMG, so it sounds like it was desperation holding on until the dam broke. As mentioned above, the starting RWB got the red card, so bodes well for Scally getting back in the starting lineup. He came on in the 76' and there was another goal in the 80', but I have no clue if Scally was involved. Reyna got a 6 minute cameo. Final stats were Bayers with 83% possession and 27 shots (11 on goal) to 1 for BMG (0 on goal). Oof. Next league game is away at St Pauli. Hoping both Scally and Reya get a chance to start and lead the team to their first victory.
got a 2 match-suspension for Bundesliga but not for today (cup match vs Karlsruhe) still expect Scally to start this evening and Castrop to play in a more attacking role
good and diligent match from Scally as a wingback (we look best with a back three, I hope it stays this way but the coach likes to re-arrange the pieces each match ;-) but Joe also showed up in Gladbach's central defence (covering vor Sander) Polanski also gave him the license to go deep and get behind Pauli's last line if possible and in the wonderful vein of a center forward Scally did: less than an inch to the right and he would have scored... upcoming match at home against the billy goats: that's the season-highlight and the match where Kasey Keller liked to intone a disdaining polically incorrect song ;-)
Hope Joe knows I was joking when I suggested that he bring six dozen doughnuts to the first day of camp.
certainly not a soccer tidbit but a spectacle and full of emotion: banner choreo, pyro all over, field fog, a ‚Rudelbildung‘ (many angry players within the smallest area), 14:20 stoppage time... and an incredible noise level even at warm up as ‚Harry‘ Tabakovic (underrated by me & many others) witnessed for his first time (at the age of 31) the coach of the billygoats revealed one of his ideas at press conference: he expected Gladbach’s wingback to attack high: therefore he put El Mala in, an (overhyped?) 19year old, sorted out at Borussia’s Youth, then disappeared for years only to rise like Phoenix from the ashes and to earn a call up for Germany’s NT after just 9 (incomplete) BuLi matches El Mala, key skill dribbling, should attack Sander (RCB but a ‚6‘ by trade) in 1on1s but this totally backfired Kwasniok admitted: Polanski didn’t play along, instead a guy named Scally bodyguarded (if required) El Mala who found no grass to play on, proved to be a blunt blade and didn’t come back after the break… mission accomplished! (and Joe still showed up in offense!) Off-topic Derby-notes: the supporters and the players were already with him, now the soccer gods and the standings are with Polanski too and soon the management will hand him a nice pen despite being a ‚high risk match‘ with police riding squads: with just a total of 15 criminal complaints, four administrative offenses for violations of the Explosives Act and four people sent off and five taken into custody (one idiot hit an police officer on his helmet) this was a rather ‚peaceful’ Derby: I appreciate this Cologne Coach: Corners after missed penalties are the most difficult to defend. Gladbach Coach: I’m not a fan of VAR and it's getting worse and worse. Cologne Coach: I not only don't like the VAR, I hate it. KICKER columnist: I also hate VAR. Bananenflanke: Me too! (… at least how it’s handled in Bundesliga). Upcoming Soccer-chart-topper: "You’ll never wait alone" sorry, got longer, I’m still emotionalized ;-) „FC beaten up by foals! (EXPRESS, Cologne)
Thanks for that behind the scenes reporting! Reading the Kicker game summary was pretty blah and it contained non of this info you had. Almost seemed like AI slop. Speaking of Kicker, Scally got a 3.0 rating (1.0 good, 6.0 bad).
3.0 is ok in the Kicker cosmos, I would rate him a tad better at the very least (but didn't look into the stats so far) like at St. Pauli he 'was all over' (maybe a bit more focused on defence)... but this time not involved in the key scenes he still showed up in attack in 100th (!) when more or less everybody of our defenders showed signs of exhaustion liked how fast he was up when someone took him down at the 'Rudel' he acted more as an mediator and pushed the pissed Elvedi out of the 'danger zone' what impressed me most: some passing with really good vision and promising signs of combination play (that has to be our next step to make the upswing persistent) noticeable that Scally's head was constantly moving: checking the scene to the left, in front and most important behind (no signs of confusion like sometimes in the past - in a formation that didn't click most of the time) that's why interplay with Sander (RCB) and Reitz (R8) worked quite well, each one covering for the other... for my liking back three suits him more than back four (but of course every player looks better if there is a 'structure') not so good: let too many cologne crossballs pass by... but then again he always was close and a distraction for the crosser... inviting the opponent to crossballs was also a strategy of our legendary coach Favre, so it's not impossible that Polanski is not using this against Scally ;-)
Rudelbildung Meister: Joseph "Joe" Scally at Borussia Mönchengladbach Rudel me this! Joseph "Joe" Scally at Borussia Mönchengladbach Invitation to Cross, my Favrete Strategy: Joseph "Joe" Scally at Borussia Mönchengladbach
https://www.borussia.com/news/scally-interview-november-2526 when asked at the PC Polanski briefly praised Scally pointing out that the last match wasn't his first good match because the coach obviously likes Castrop and because right CB Sander might be out for longer it's likely that Scally is taking Sander's place again on friday... but with Polanski you never know... next week is an 'english week' and after that we all know if the upswing is really lasting (the first opponents after Polanski took over were tough... the last ones , other than upcoming RB, rather hand-tame...)