Bundesliga 19/20

On paper Bayern have strengthened their squad, but I'm not fully convinced if the new players are a good fit.

Like Kovac needs players to find solutions themselves in atrack (he even gave an alarming statement that stuff like positional play is for baddies), meaning dribblers on the wings. I'm not sure Perisic's strengths lie there at all (anymore).

Coutinho isn't really a wide player either. Will Kovac be able to utilize him centrally or will he end up as James 2.0? Does he even want to be in Munich?

To a lesser degree even Hernandez, he'll probably be an upgrade defensively over Hummels, but does he have the same qualities on the ball? Will Kovac be able to compensate if not?
 
Is it worth watching the Dortmund game tonight? Should be an easy win for them right?
 
Dortmund down 1-0. They've been poor till now, nothing in attack with Paco really denting any chance they have of building up attacks. I thought they were really lucky last week against Augsburg because Augsburg's keeper fecked up on their first three goals.

I'm putting myself out there, RB Leipzeg is going to win the league with Nagalssman.
 
Akanji has been a trainwreck till now. Didn't have a strong end of last season as well.
 
do.ob said:
On paper Bayern have strengthened their squad, but I'm not fully convinced if the new players are a good fit.

Like Kovac needs players to find solutions themselves in atrack (he even gave an alarming statement that stuff like positional play is for baddies), meaning dribblers on the wings. I'm not sure Perisic's strengths lie there at all (anymore).

Coutinho isn't really a wide player either. Will Kovac be able to utilize him centrally or will he end up as James 2.0? Does he even want to be in Munich?

To a lesser degree even Hernandez, he'll probably be an upgrade defensively over Hummels, but does he have the same qualities on the ball? Will Kovac be able to compensate if not?
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Pretty much every point of yours leads to the big problem named Kovac. Obviously the squad has a few flaws, but it's nothing major. It lacks elite individual quality to compete for the CL without a lucky run. But that isn't surprising either considering the Schweinsteiger-Lahm-Ribery-Robben era is completely over now and we obviously need time to rebuild.

Kovac is pretty much the worst possible type of coach we can have at the moment, because he isn't developing individual players nor is he establishing a playing style to build on. If we hadn't been that crazy dominant in the league and hadn't won so many titles in a row, it might not feel as bad as it does at the moment. But we're massively spoilt and should focus on building another elite team, everything else feels hollow (including winning league titles as the best of an underwhelming league, that overall has the same problems as Bayern). We should have done that directly after Guardiola but it's the 4th year now, we're wasting by at best standing still (more likely it's actually regress).
 
Dortmund looked half asleep in the first half, not enough movement, sloppy/sluggish on the ball and entirely missing Drexler on his corner goal. Quite the disappointment, though with Götze and Brandt on the bench there is plenty of opportunity for improvement on the bench.

@Balu
Sure, Kovac causes a lot of these problems, but regardless of that Coutinho and Perisic look a bit like panic loans, albeit quite impressive ones.
 
do.ob said:
@Balu
Sure, Kovac causes a lot of these problems, but regardless of that Coutinho and Perisic look a bit like panic loans, albeit quite impressive ones.
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Neither is a worse fit for the team than Sane in my opinion. There weren't any obvious choices on the market, that would come in and instantly lift the team to a higher level no matter the coach.

Perisic is a smart, cheap move. If he plays well, he's a decent backup. If he causes problems or sucks, he's gone in a year.

Obviously Sane would have been the more promising long term fix on the wing. But as we see at City, his playing style isn't a perfect fit for every team either. He can't execute everything Guardiola wants of his winger and is therefore benched more than he should at this stage of his career.
 
James looks a good prospect but we really should have just bid 80 million + for Sancho.
 
Sancho could break the Neymar Transfer Record Fee, if he will sign a new contract.
 
Great win for Dortmund! Really impressive second half performance, the change of bringing Brandt and Hakimi coming in really changed it and added a bit more creativity into their attack.

The question going forward will be how to use Brandt. Dortmund were likely to be caught on the counter while Brandt was there but the difference offensively was massive, much more obviously than Weigl provided.
 
Dortmund have a great chance this year, their attack is very strong. They will outscore most teams in the league with ease. Depends on what Bayern do, but their start was excellent so far
 
freeurmind said:
James looks a good prospect but we really should have just bid 80 million + for Sancho.
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Dortmund has clearly stated he is not for sale and Sancho hasn't made any fuss despite all the interest, which makes me think there's a gentlemen's agreement between the two that he'll be allowed to leave next year if the offer is right.

And that offer will be way above 80M anyhow. I'm guessing more in the range of Coutinho numbers or even Mbappe.
 
Jeez.. Someone I've just noticed playing for Cologne, Jonas Hector. I remember being disappointed when he signed a new contract after the euros when we were heavily linked because it meant another season with Moreno at LB. Seems he stayed and got relegated with Cologne and we ended up signing Andy Robertson a year later anyways..
 
Balu said:
Neither is a worse fit for the team than Sane in my opinion. There weren't any obvious choices on the market, that would come in and instantly lift the team to a higher level no matter the coach.

Perisic is a smart, cheap move. If he plays well, he's a decent backup. If he causes problems or sucks, he's gone in a year.

Obviously Sane would have been the more promising long term fix on the wing. But as we see at City, his playing style isn't a perfect fit for every team either. He can't execute everything Guardiola wants of his winger and is therefore benched more than he should at this stage of his career.
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I think Sane is a dribbler, who can break up defences, something Bayern lack at certain times. Perisic, while not a bad player, doesn't strike me as someone who will make a difference, when the opposition manages to contain Bayern's attack. He's a good player to loan (for depth) but doesn't strike me as a solution .
 
ColoRed said:
That was a great atmosphere in Cologne yesterday. Proud of my boys, they ran their socks off but it wasn't enough against a BVB with ridiculous Individual class
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Agree. It was a kind of a lucky win. On the other hand in the beginning of the last season it was a bit like that: Dortmund with late goals when a good fighting opponent was tired.

Based on the game i think FC Köln will stay in the league for sure. They played very well.
 
ColoRed said:
That was a great atmosphere in Cologne yesterday. Proud of my boys, they ran their socks off but it wasn't enough against a BVB with ridiculous Individual class
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Speaking of running their socks off, it felt a bit like Cologne mismanaged their energy. They ran an awful lot when Dortmund had their defensive lineup on the field and were fairly phlegmatic ad a whole and then when Favre put on the pressure with Hakimi and especially Brandt at #8 there wasnt any steam left to exploit the gaps and put them on the back foot with some counter attacking threats.
 
Where can you watch games online these days? Is there are new reddit?
 
Lewandowski showcasing his set pieces tonight. 1-0 pen, 2-0 free kick, both perfectly executed.
 
His third goal was :drool:

5 goals in 2 games. Maybe the best #9 out there right now.
 
do.ob said:
Speaking of running their socks off, it felt a bit like Cologne mismanaged their energy. They ran an awful lot when Dortmund had their defensive lineup on the field and were fairly phlegmatic ad a whole and then when Favre put on the pressure with Hakimi and especially Brandt at #8 there wasnt any steam left to exploit the gaps and put them on the back foot with some counter attacking threats.
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Difficult with so many new players on the pitch I guess but you're right. And you know you're in trouble if you have to put in Höger :( slow as feck
 
So what's up with Bundesliga referees again? Kimmich's little kick in the Super cup, Perisic's hand ball yesterday and a similar situation in iirc Hoffenheim vs Bremen. Matchday two has not been completed and I can already name three fairly scandalous feck ups, without even trying....
 
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I have no idea how those handball situations weren't even checked. When VAR is applied so erratically, it's just worse than not having it at all.
 
GhastlyHun said:
I have no idea how those handball situations weren't even checked. When VAR is applied so erratically, it's just worse than not having it at all.
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It definitely don‘t know any longer what is considered a handball. I have just given up trying to understand the rules.
 
Acrobat7 said:
It definitely don‘t know any longer what is considered a handball. I have just given up trying to understand the rules.
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Sure it's a bit confusing, which is why I didn't mention the Pavard incident, but I doubt that there are any questions about sticking your elbow out on a free kick.
 
Acrobat7 said:
As a Bayern supporter I am happy about it. His strengths just don’t fit Bayern‘s style at all.
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I reckon it was just to provide Leipzig with a transfer fee. Still think he'll go to Bayern.
 
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