Hey, I'm new here, great forum. Just wanted to mention English is not my Mother Tongue, so there might be mistakes somewhere. We already played 11 rounds, it's 1/3 of the Bundesliga. I know we are still close to the leaders but it's just because there are no teams in the Bundesliga that run good this season for the whole 11 games. It's been 3 games in the group stage, that's 1/2 of the group stage. The 4-0 against Ajax put us in good position to the next round (unless we're gonna lose to Juventus the second time and lose points against Tel Aviv). Anyway, the thing I'm worried about is the lack of constant tactics within the team. We are already in November and no one can really say what is Magath trying to do. He plays with 2, sometimes 3 defensive midfielders. He's trying to make a Midfielder of Sagnol. He gives to much credit to Hargreaves and co. And in front? 1 striker? 2 strikers? Makaay is kinda canceling the second striker and himself not working too much for the team, but to leave him alone as forward and to decide Hargreaves is your front midfielder is kind of stupid. He can not find solutions in the defensive game. Lucio is giving away a lot of goals, Robert Kovac didn't do better in Gladbach, Kuffour was good but Magath took him out of the starting 11, Salihamidzic is horrible with anything concerning defence this year, Demichelis sees the games from the bench (or the tribune), Linke is the only one who's solid. ohh, I'm sorry, Lucio is solid too, every game he's going to the attack and screw up goals. Magath changes the formation and the starting lineup once a week, twice if there's a CL or DFB cup game. It's been only 3.5 monthes, and it's legitimate that the team isn't fully connected, but I can't even see a start for this Integration.
I honestly don't know, I guess trying to find the most suitable line up without having to drop "star" players.
This is the pattern I see... Home Games -- plays a 4-4-2 formation, giving Makaay a partner up top. Away Games -- plays a 4-5-1 formation, and simple tries for 1 point, not 3. Two Games in a week -- plays healthiest lineup that got a result last. Last week was a good example. More than two games in 10 days -- rearranges lineup to accomodate health concerns, but seems more interested in appeasing the players who ride the bench, and in the same sense rest the players that will perform in CLS. Side note -- unfortunately, this side is full of talent, and because of that, the decisions are not soo clear cut as to who starts and who does not. Consistancy is the key to any REAL success, and so far, our most consistent performances are by the "B-side" of our roster, if you will. This last stretch of games we were all aware of the dangers... a ton of games smashed into a 14-20 day period, none of which is more important than Juventus. Concerning the Bundesliga, as long as we keep ourselves in the hunt by the break, we should be in good position. Problem is Munich has not favored well when trying to win both league and CLS cups in recent years. They seem to look ahead or simply not be able to handle the intense amount of preparation and games in such short time. Concerning the Borussia game... I think Dead FIngers summed it up best when he said "Bayern pulling a Bayern". Classic. And, true.
Well, this is a transision phase, an incredibly tough one as Bayern tries to adjust to new players, letting old ones go and deciding what their next purchases will be.
I would also say that the injury situation is very critical. It is so bad, that as soon as players come off-they seem to be thrown right back in. The defense is definitely in an identity crisis. The good news is that Bayern has players that can play a multitude of positions. The bad news is that there seems to be no lock on the bulk of positions. Again injuries.. If you breath on these players they fall over, break a leg or something. I am surprised no one has been decapitated yet