No, the Pig's biggest strengths is workrate, though he lacks way too much and like you said he needs to beat his man to work well in a 4-5-1/4-3-3. I don't get why you put in every post about youngsters, we know about them already and you're stating the same thing bud. None are close to being ready for the NT either way, so let it go for a while. And to answer your question, no Troche hasn't done anything to me but he's nowhere near good enough to start for Germany. He could work as a squad player, but he cannot be a starter. Marin for a super-sub, I wouldn't mind if Podolski was the one replacing him. Considering Poldi is very good vs crap opposition, this would be THE GAME to start him in.
Well, it explains why Schweini is always used as a right winger. Its mainly becoz Marin, Oezil, Podolski and hot prospects for the future such as Holtby, Nsereko and Naki are more effective on the left. People tend to think Marin is better at RW, thats pretty wrong. Schweini may be ok as a right midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 (but i prefer him playing in the middle), but won't be an option at all as a right supporting forward in a 4-3-3. That's why i think if Thomas Mueller continues to improve like he already has, and having regular playing time in BM, he'll be nominated after the Wc 2010. Loew likes player with versatility and pace, Thomas Mueller is one of the few better prospects who is active on the right side, has good pace and technique, can play several positions up front and surprisingly a great finisher. Even Trochowski is more effective on the left side. One short-term solution is to play Oezil at the Right suporting forward position, and possibly Klose as the main backup. With Klose's skill-set, i think he should be able to make some contribution as a supporting forward. but agree, Podolski should start. Its time to have a confidence boost.
If that ends up being the starting line up I am going to finally going to give it up to Loew. That looks ideal given the player availability and the tactical approach Loew seeks. It is about time the spine of the team is addressed and I think a Ballack-Khedira-Oezil spine is exactly what we need going forward. He still needs to figure out who Mertesacker's partner will be though. Ideally I'd like one of Hoewedes, Boateng to be called up and integrated but that isn't happening until after the WC. A solid and known CB partnership is necessary though and I hope he settles the debate sooner rather than later. Precisely, we have two very attack minded fullbacks in Lahm and Schaefer, both have pace and can play combination football and the width would primarily be provided by them. The channels would be wide open for them to operate in with the interchangeability of Ballack, Khedira, Trochowski and Schweinsteiger to cover the exposed space. This is the formation I would like to see against more organized sides in the WC and against Russia. With options like Marin on the bench this would give us not only the flexibility you mentioned but a much needed unpredictability that we have been lacking for a long time. Essentially, it would allow us to play the type of football we SHOULD be playing. I think Trochowski has actually been doing pretty well for the NT since the Euros. Given he is no Podolski regarding performance levels for the NT but there is not so much between them that it would make a huge difference. Besides, with the adjusted tactical system players like Trochowski can actually benefit and perform at a higher level. I firmly believe coaches should adjust their tactics according to the player strengths and availability. So far Loew has neglected that but with this new experiment he seeks to correct it and it could have a big pay off for someone like Trochowski.
It seems, Löw will nominate Boateng for the match vs Aserbaidschan. Good move http://www.spiegel.de/sport/fussball/0,1518,647865,00.html
I agree with those who say Poldi should start after reading some of the posts here. I forgot this is the time when he becomes Prince Poldi and hammers the garbage teams. Speaking about Schweini, I think this article provides some insight as to why he's not a great attacker. I believe he should be played in the hole next to Ballack as opposed to being out wide. http://www.fcbayern.t-home.de/en/news/news/2009/20499.php?fcb_sid=b26857464c866cde6c70d212cdfbe3c0
I am surprised at low liberal Loew is suddenly being with his nominations. I expected one or two at best of the U21 players (aside Marin) to be included in his plans. But it seems that he is willing to experiment further. It can only be good news before the World Cup.
I wanna see hoewedes get a start more than boateng. Also, i've been wondering what type of player schaefer is exactly. I havent seen him play much
With a towering CB in Mertesacker, i think his partner should be someone with quick response, faster, more agile and a good tackler. I think Jerome Boateng fits the description better. Not to mention Boateng's skill-set and versatility allow him to play all 4 positions at the back and at DM even Howedes is better at covering n man marking, but he rarely plays CB for Schalke lately. He is used as a LB instead. Both are great prospect but i think Jerome Boateng is more ready. He was already great back in 2007/08 season.
Actually, Boateng is supposed to be nominated later this year, but not for this game. According to Löw, Boateng could have been nominated, but he didn't want to take him away from the U21 with the important qualification going on. As for thunderstorms, from a meteorological point of view it doesn't look like something will happen. A bit of rain could be possible, but more than that would be a bit surprising.
Re: WCQ: Deutschland v. Aserbaidschan 9/9/09 I expect nothing less than 3 goals from Germany today. Thinking 4-0 victory.
Re: WCQ: Deutschland v. Aserbaidschan 9/9/09 Starting lineup: ----------------Adler----------------- Lahm-Mertesacker-Westermann-Schäfer ---------Ballack-Hitzlsperger----------- ---Schweini------Özil-------Podolski--- ----------------Gomez---------------- http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=500014&tx_dfbnews_pi1[showUid]=19772&tx_dfbnews_pi4[cat]=56
Re: WCQ: Deutschland v. Aserbaidschan 9/9/09 Would have liked to see Friedrich instead of Westermann, and Khedira instead of Hitz. Khedira will hopefully play later in the match. The rest looks ok.
Re: WCQ: Deutschland v. Aserbaidschan 9/9/09 Interesting formation, puts pressure on Oezil & Gomez to get it done.
Good line up hope Poldi will show a good display tonight Friedrich should start but picked up a slight injury
Friedrich is injured, that's why he is not starting. I would have chosen a different lineup, but hey, let's see what they can do.
Well its simple really and it makes sense. A lot of the players coming up are more talented than the players he has had at his disposal so far. I don't know why it took him so long to figure out. With players like Oezil, Beck, Neuer, Khedira performing so well its only right to continue to call up other players. They are the future and what we have had so far in large part was pretty damn average. This is what a coach should do in a transition period, call up and integrate talent when they are ready and a lot of the young players are ready. He is a left sided attacking fullback, quite pacey, technically adept, good at linking up with other players and quite good at crossing the ball. He should be a shoe in for starting left back for the NT.
4--3--3 Schweinsteiger - Gomez - Podolski Muah, yesterday Loew praised that Schweinsteiger guy as the coming defensive midfielder and tonight he is 'attacking' on the wings...