Bundesliga 2016/17

Carlo, imo, is the manager you bring when you finished building the team and just need a manager to push it to a CL trophy.

His transfers have been horrible for years now and struggle to rebuild any team on his own. He's not the manager Bayern needed at this moment with such an aging squad that's reaching its career end.
I don't know how you think this works at Bayern but 'Carlo' doesn't do the transfers
 
So the transfers are done without the manager approving it ? that'll be a strange policy tbh.
Most clubs are ran that way. Bayern, Dortmund, Gladbach....Juventus, Milan, PSG, Sevilla, Valencia, Madrid, Barcelona....Works much better than one manager uprooting the squad every 2 seasons. No company in the world should be ran by one decision maker.

And that Bayern team needs a few touches, nothing major. Neuer, Alaba, Boateng, Martinez,Hummels, Kimmich, Thiago, Vidal, Muller and Lewa are all young or in their peak. Who knows how Coman or Sanches will turn out. Basically need to find wingers to replace Robben,Lahm and Ribery, and get upgrades on Rafinha and Rudy. Muller and Alaba finding their form again would be useful for Bayern too.
 
Most clubs are ran that way. Bayern, Dortmund, Gladbach....Juventus, Milan, PSG, Sevilla, Valencia, Madrid, Barcelona....Works much better than one manager uprooting the squad every 2 seasons. No company in the world should be ran by one decision maker.

And that Bayern team needs a few touches, nothing major. Neuer, Alaba, Boateng, Martinez,Hummels, Kimmich, Thiago, Vidal, Muller and Lewa are all young or in their peak. Who knows how Coman or Sanches will turn out. Basically need to find wingers to replace Robben,Lahm and Ribery, and get upgrades on Rafinha and Rudy. Muller and Alaba finding their form again would be useful for Bayern too.

But what if the players coming aren't suited for the manager's style of play ? Won't this hinder the manager a bit, either forcing him to change the style he plays best to accommodate these players or he'll try to force the players to play in his system which may fail. That seems to be a risky approach for the manager tbh.
 
People need to clam down. There is plenty of life left in Bayern. The red cards did have a major influence on the two legs, as did the offside goals.

Dortmund finally got a bit of luck in the cup against Bayern, and still had to do it the hard way.

Absolutely. It seems people have forgotten how much better Bayern looked than Real before that (unfair) red card.
 
But what if the players coming aren't suited for the manager's style of play ? Won't this hinder the manager a bit, either forcing him to change the style he plays best to accommodate these players or he'll try to force the players to play in his system which may fail. That seems to be a risky approach for the manager tbh.

I'd wager the manager has a massive influence/say in which players to target and sign, although Real Madrid when going the "galactico" route is an exception.

I figure it works similar to how the US sports structure is shaped: the general manager takes care of the contracts, signings, etc. but the coach/manager is right there in the mix (along with player personnel director and scouting director), and in some clubs the coach/manager has the final say on player personnel decisions.
 
But what if the players coming aren't suited for the manager's style of play ? Won't this hinder the manager a bit, either forcing him to change the style he plays best to accommodate these players or he'll try to force the players to play in his system which may fail. That seems to be a risky approach for the manager tbh.
Picking a manager to suit the club is a much better approach than picking a manager that requires only particular players. To illustrate, Mourinho or Simeone would never be in the hat to manage Barcelona even though they are great managers (ignoring the fact that neither of them would like to go there). Their playstyle doesn't suit the ethos of the club or players. That's how a club should generally be ran. Yes, they adapt the squads - but the general direction of the club should maintain a similar direction.(look at Allegri's evolution of the side at Juve in particular).
 
Bayern are aging; a major overhaul is needed in the summer.
I don't follow Bayern and german football all that closely, but I think the aging first team is more an indication who Ancelotti trusts, rather than a representation of the entire team. Honestly, apart from having to replace Ribery and Robben (and they have Coman on the bench, who I still rate as an incredible talent, though not sure what the situation is with him and Juve), I'd think that with Kimmich and Sanches they have ready-made replacements for Lahm and Alonso. I don't really rate Costa all that much, but even he can have his uses and he was pretty good in his first season, I think ? For me they still have one of the best defenses on the planet (Neuer, Boateng who I rate as the best CB on the planet, Hummels and Alaba), one of the best strikers (Lewandowski, who for me is only surpassed by Suarez as the best number 9 on the planet) and a midfield of Vidal-Thiago, injuries notwithstanding is nothing to scoff at. I think their weakness is definitely in the wide areas, but other than that I'd say they're far from needing a major overhaul. Adding quality in depth - sure, particularly with two key players retiring, bu otherwise I think they'll be fine.

If anything, I thought that last night they didn't really lose because Dortmund outplayed them, but rather because they took the gas off the pedal and couldn't really be bothered in the second half. Some of their play was pretty slow and uninterested, which is also down to the coach and potentially him being unable to motivate them. I seriously thought that with Ancelotti and his supposed CL expertise they'd really make a push for it this year once more, but I think he has been pretty disappointing, all things considered.
 
Is Kimmich still considered Lahm's heir? You'd think he'd displace Rafinha and get some games on his designated position if that was the case. Otherwise I tend to agree though. I think Bayern need one big attacking signing and the rest is somewhat optional.


How is Carlo viewed among the fans btw? The guys who weren't happy with Guardiola surely must be livid with him? Looks to me like Bayern were a lot more entertaining under Pep and in terms of success it's even at best. Plus he's leaving the young players by the side of the road.
 
Is Kimmich still considered Lahm's heir? You'd think he'd displace Rafinha and get some games on his designated position if that was the case. Otherwise I tend to agree though. I think Bayern need one big attacking signing and the rest is somewhat optional.


How is Carlo viewed among the fans btw? The guys who weren't happy with Guardiola surely must be livid with him? Looks to me like Bayern were a lot more entertaining under Pep and in terms of success it's even at best. Plus he's leaving the young players by the side of the road.
You'd have to give Kimmich minutes to see if he really could follow Lahm. :rolleyes: I was never in the anti-Pep crowd (I'm still pro-Pep, would take him back immediately), and Ancelotti's first season is doing nothing to convince me that Pep did a bad job. On the contrary, it's become obvious that Carlo has no plan at all for developing youth, or developing anyone at that. He can't even make sense of Thomas Müller. At this point in the club's history, with so many experienced world class players, who have carried the club over one of it's most successful periods ever, getting old / ending their careers, someone like Ancelotti is not the right manager.
 
Carlo Ancelotti was not the right guy to succeed Guardiola imo. Yeah, probably the bosses of Bayern thought that the Italian succeeding Pep would be like him succeeding Mourinho at Real.. I am NOT saying he's a bad manager, on the contrary he is one of the best right now BUT Guardiola installed a certain way of playing, a certain system and the next coach should have been in the same mould as him. That's way Pep suggested to the board to hire Tuchel. Carlo's way of playing is different and he is basically coaching the exact same team that Pep left.. Ancelotti needs to do some transfers in the summer to alter the team in his vision. Let's wait and see how his second season will be..
 
They will be fine. Munich have already signed one of the best young defenders around and another decent player. I doubt they are going to stop there. It's just a little slump IMO.
 
Great intensity from Leverkusen in the opening minutes, Schalke can't cope with it thus far.

Chicharito benched for old man Kießling.

Just as I post this Schalke take the lead with a direct and clean transition. :lol:
 
Great intensity from Leverkusen in the opening minutes, Schalke can't cope with it thus far.

Chicharito benched for old man Kießling.

Just as I post this Schalke take the lead with a direct and clean transition. :lol:
2-0 now. Bayern Nevereverkusen.
 
And there goes my acca....fecking Leverkusen. At least draw at home you bastards. :lol:
 
Leverkusen are lucky that they are still four points ahead of Augsburg and more importantly eight points ahead of Ingolstadt. When you start out as hopeful and then collapse as quickly as them then you're in deep relegation troubles.
 
2-0 now. Bayern Nevereverkusen.

I just have to repeat myself...
Bayern = Bavaria, a beautiful landscape, the wealthiest state of Germany, home of the best beer and of the best football club
Bayer = a chemical company that produces Aspirin and a club that produces headaches

That n... is very important...
 
Last edited:
I just have to repeat myself...
Bayern = Bavaria, a beautiful landscape, the wealthiest state of Germany, home of the best beer and of the best football club
Bayer = a chemical company that produces Asprin and a club that produces headaches

That n... is very important...
Oh dear. :lol:
 
I just have to repeat myself...
Bayern = Bavaria, a beautiful landscape, the wealthiest state of Germany, home of the best beer and of the best football club
Bayer = a chemical company that produces Aspirin and a club that produces headaches

That n... is very important...
:lol:
 
Isn't Henrichs supposed to be quite good? We should take advantage of Levurkusen being poor this year and snatch him up.
 
It's crazy to think how far Leverkusen, Wolfsburg and Gladbach have fallen over such a short period of time.
 
Apparently some Fans of Leverkusen are gathering outside their stadium. This is going to be HSVesque.
 
Yep, I think he's quite talented. Not sure whether Mourinho would be interested though.

The better question is HOW impactful is Hakan Calhanoglu. Leverkusen is tied for last place on 12 points in the 2nd half of the season with Darmstadt, Mainz and Frankfurt. They all obviously have a game in hand. If you take the ban at face value, he´s one of the most intriguing young playmakers at 23. He wants to leave and is valued about €20-25M. Could be a bargain.
 
The better question is HOW impactful is Hakan Calhanoglu. Leverkusen is tied for last place on 12 points in the 2nd half of the season with Darmstadt, Mainz and Frankfurt. They all obviously have a game in hand. If you take the ban at face value, he´s one of the most intriguing young playmakers at 23. He wants to leave and is valued about €20-25M. Could be a bargain.

Not really what we need, though. He's basically Özil 2.0 with better free kick taking ability.
 
After what happened to Stuttgart last season, everything is possible. Would be quite a shock to see Leverkusen relegated though.
 
It's crazy to think how far Leverkusen, Wolfsburg and Gladbach have fallen over such a short period of time.
Gladbach's success was all about Favre imo. Eberl does a very good job for years now, but it was Favre who managed to develop (mostly unexpensive) individual players and the team as a whole far beyond all expectations.
 
Gladbach's success was all about Favre imo. Eberl does a very good job for years now, but it was Favre who managed to develop (mostly unexpensive) individual players and the team as a whole far beyond all expectations.

Age is finally beginning to catch up with Raffael. That has been a big factor. He's still a very good goalscorer though.

Hermann hasn't been himself in over 18 months.
 
Leverkusen actually 16th in the 'Rückrundentabelle', twelve points in fourteen games.

Relegation battle will go down to the wire:
Mainz 05 (33)
VfL Wolfsburg (33)
Hamburger SV (33)
Augsburg (32)
Ingolstadt (28)
Darmstadt (21)

Darmstadt host Freiburg & need a win to avoid relegation. Should Augsburg beat Hamburg (on Sunday), they would make the trip down to the 2. Bundesliga anyway.
Ingolstadt away to 'Everybody's Darling' RB Leipzig.
Wolfsburg at home v Bayern.
Mainz at home to Mönchengladbach.

AND: Bayern will indeed complete the 'single' if they beat Wolfsburg & Leipzig don't bag three points tomorrow.
 
Hermann hasn't been himself in over 18 months.
Although I found his old 'self' a tad overrated, it should be noted that he didn't reach his former performances after a couple of injuries, particularly a torn ACL - which he returned from in February 2016. Nothing unusual, sadly rather more of the norm than an exception.

Leverkusen actually 16th in the 'Rückrundentabelle', twelve points in fourteen games.
If every so-called 'pundit' and 'expert' who prior to season kick-off was convinced that Leverkusen would give Bayern a good run for the title or even thought they could challenge for the title were to donate €1,000 to UNHCR, the latter could fund food in a refugee camp for a month. Same for those who bashed the departing Pep and praised Ancelotti for freeing Bayern players from Pep's shackles, and for knowing how to win a treble to now bash Ancelotti. It just shows how fecking useless these 'pundits' and 'experts' are.
 
Last edited: