Jones, Neustädter, Goretzka, Hoger, ... let the battle begin! Jones seems to relish the challenge! “First of all, the competition has always been demand by me or Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. It is obvious, we now cannot say you shouldn’t sign any players for my position,” he said. “I have been around for a long time now and have been written off at times. But in the end I was on the pitch week in and week out. And just like that I will not give away my position now.” http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1502012?cc=5901
These are the most important positions for the success of the team and were one of our main weakness' last year. I'm very excited to see how Keller will improve them. I'd also add Ayhan and Kolasinac to the list of players who could be used there. In fact in many ways Kola looks like a young Jones. I'm undecided if I prefer him in a central position with his aggressiveness or as a LB.
Yeah, in the CL, Kola looked phenomenal at CM. He didn't wow me when he played there in the BuLi, but the kid's still young.
I'd say Neustädter-Jones is your best pairing and it'll be interesting to see how aggressively Goretzka is blooded into the team this season; will he spend some time with the U-19s? Will he be in the squad? Will he get the chance to take a starting position?
I expect he'll fit right into the rotation with Jones and Neustadter. I expect him to get a fair share of starts. Keller doesn't hesitate when it comes to giving youngsters minutes.
Can't see Goretzka playing for the U19 unless he totally shits the bed in practice. Neustäder and Jones are my favourites for the starting positions at the beginning of the season, too. Considering Höger's versatility, he can play everywhere on the right, I can see Goretzka as the first replacement for one of the two. But playing time will be a big issue. Goretzka, Meyer, Ayhan all need to be played for their further development.
I agree that Neustäder and Jones are the likely starters but I can see Jones and Goretzka as a 65min combo or even starters when a more dynamic combo is desired.
Yeah, it is absolutely possible that Goretzka starts a game now and then. And boy do I wish that Keller finds something different then the Neustädter/Jones combo. I just can't see Goretzka being a regular starter. It is a bit much for an 18 year old with the whole experience of one season of professional football to run our midfield for the whole season. Especially when he has to concentrate on school, too!
People tend to forget that he's not any 18 year old player who was just promoted from the U-19. He was a starter for a 2nd division club and trained in professional football for a while now. He knows how to handle the physical and mental strain of playing up to 40 games (38 as a starter last season). That's why I think Goretzka could really be a strong competitor for CM. However it's clear that we don't know how hard the step into the 1st division will be for him. Nevertheless I think it's a realistic scenario.
At the very least, it would be good for a change of pace if we had a viable alternative. Having two known quantities makes it easier for opponents to prepare. Having a bit of a wild card makes us unpredictable and dangerous.
The Jones and Goretzka midfield pair looked very dynamic v Southampton. It may be more effective than some thought.
Yeah, it definitely did. One things for sure, this season will be more interesting than last from a player/personnel perspective.
By the way. Do Huntelaar's and Farfan's exit clauses last until the transfer window closes or is there a deadline prior to August 30th?
They don't have any. At least Heldt said that about Farfan although there were all these rumours when Gala pulled off their show. Can't believe that Huntelaar has one. Even if he does, I'm not worried he will leave. Even if he did leave, we would get some nice cash for a 30 year old player and lose a big chunk of payroll.
At the time when Farfan extended his contract, I heard about a clause in the neighbourhoof of €15m As for the midfield, I think Höger gets overlooked a bit. He played pretty well in stints last season as the more offensive holding midfielder. I won't expect Goretzka to make an impact right away, though he has been turning some heads in preseason. Still, with him making his abi next to playing, I wouldn't count on him starting the bulk of the matches. I never liked the Neustädter-Jones pairing. They're both fine holders, but neither of them can take a strategic role from there. they'll win balls quickly, but then not know how to do with it. Neustädter was given a lot of credit at the start of last season as the guy who starts schalke attacks, but imo what he's best at is making secure passes to keep the ball right after winning it, not making the play quick and sending his team the other way. Jones can contribute offensively with his dynamics mainly, but as I said neither of them can play a Schweinsteiger or Gündogan role. Höger aint no Schweini of course, but I think he does have offensive instincts that #13 and #33 lack imo. Also both of the latter two are very good at challenging so I don't really see the need to have both on the pitch. They may be our best two individually, but don't complement each other. Höger would also take pressure away from Matip, who last season had to try and open the play a lot because he's the only CB we have that's capable of that. I doubt Höger can play a whole season as the go to guy, but we should have enough depth on the position by now to make it happen.
I don't know about Farfan's clause. It sounded like he had one when all the Gala rumours came up but Heldt later said in an interview that Farfan doesn't have one. Maybe the terms for the clause weren't fullfilled or Heldt mislead the press. I wouldn't swear on his statement. I'm pretty much on the same page as you with the rest of the post. I'm just more optimistic about Neustädter who, I think, is very much able to speed up the game on his better days. The biggest problem with Höger is his lack of athleticism. He is slooooooow, small and not very strong which is a difficult combination to overcome. I can't fault a coach going with the two more defensive players considering our leaky defense and how open our midfield regularly looked. Goretzka finally brings both to the pitch, athleticism and offensive capabilities.
I think Goretzka is already a better option than Hoeger, but I wouldn't count on either of them starting too many matches. I think Jones and Neustaedter will start the season as the regular pair. When the CL (or EL) games start up I expect Goretzka to find more time.
Yes, I guess that is what most reasonable people expect. Still, the match yesterday makes me yearn for an end of the Jones-Neustädter pairing all over again. That is one creative black hole.
I would have agreed with Alex before the match yesterday, but now I'm convinced Goretzka will play a huge role from the very beginning. He has all the tools he needs to play at a high level. I think Goretzka and Jones (to provide the necessary defensive experience) will be a good combo going forward. I really want to see Jones just sit deep. He's getting older, and there's no shame in concentrating on defense, much like he did when Holtby/Jones was the midfield pair.
I don't really care which one Keller selects as long as he chooses Höger/Goretzka and any one of Jones and Neustädter. I just can no longer stand the Jones/Neustädter pair. I'm not sure they played a single decent match together. They still look totally disjointed without any finetuning at all.
Goretzka is very good offensively and I am sure he can make an impact right from the start(as he showed in the cup). Defensively though, he is not there yet. Of course, he needs matches/experience to become good enough defensively. I think by January he will be used to the speed of the league and what is required defensively. He needs to obviously learn to be more aggressive, bulk up and improve his stamina which is normal for an 18 year old.
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I'd say your best CM pairing is, without a doubt, Jones-Goretzka. Jones-Neustädter is just a train wreck creatively speaking. Neustädter just always seems to straight-up vanish in a match, and Jones' game isn't about creativity either. Goretzka can offer that spark from deep that can open up a match, all the while learning and developing with playing time, and Jones can focus on holding the line defensively.
Cross posted from match day 1 catch all thread: Schalke continues to look much better with fast paced transitions and I think the Jones and Goretzka CM combo is their most dynamic but defensively I will be in heart attack land. I was impressed with Clemens' play today. Jones defensive range continues to be very impressive and was needed several times particularly supporting the left flank in the first half. It is still very early but based on what I saw in preseason and today I would say Jones is the first choice CM. The question is who will Keller pair with Jones?