German Football Part III

[cgf]

what is schalke doing to replace goretzka and meyer?

Even without LeGo & Meyer they still have Harit, Konoplyanka, & McKennie; who already played big roles in their midfield for Tedesco...moreso the first two, but McKennie was also a regular in the rotation; especially after Meyer was frozen out. Additionally: Bentaleb is still around; Geis is returning from Sevilla; their academy has some strong talents that Tedesco could use in the midfield (Kübler, Taitague, Tekpetey & Goller being the four that look like they'll be pushing for time with the senior team this coming season).

On the signings front, they've brought in Serdar from Mainz, who has a lot of Demirbay to his game...although I have the same concerns with him that I had with Demirbay before Nagelsmann fixed him, and frankly that I still have Goretzka even after the progress he made under Tedesco. They also signed Skrzybski from my eiserne, who Tedesco may use as an advanced midfielder the way he has Konoplyanka.

I think swapping Bentaleb (and Geis) for (a) deeper midfielder(s) that Tedesco rates more would be a good idea, but they're actually in a pretty good spot where things stand now with:

Harit/Serdar* - Kono/Serdar*
McKennie/Serdar**

*Skrzybski, Kübler & Taitague
**Kübler, Geis & Bentaleb
​

They've been linked to Mascarell, Rudy, Delaney, & Bissouma, with some seriousness...though Dortmund seem more likely to pay the crazy fee for Delaney than Heidel, and I don't see Rudy leaving this summer; even if he's not in Kovac's plans for however long he keeps the job...and some very tenuous rumors connected them to Ziyech & Gbamin.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

I am not going to pretend I watched a ton of Hoffenheim games when Rudy was there..but for Germany he seems to be a guy that whenever he plays you are surprised he did because you didn't see him do anything of note during the match. I suppose his versatility is his strength to some extent and that may secure his spot in the squad..but I don't think I'd be comfortable with him getting regular playing time.

 

[cgf]

Let's speculate a bit. Who's not gonna make the cut tomorrow?
My candidates are:
Trapp - Neuer is the nr. 1 again, so one has to go.
Tah - his time will come, but after this WC
Brandt or Rudy - I can't decide. Both were playing yesterday and neither impressed me
Petersen - I don't think he should be on the NT in the first place

I'd cut:
Trapp|Leno;
both suck, so it doesn't matter which one of them wants to be bitchboy for Manu & MAtS in practice.

Rüdiger|Ginter;
Rüdiger just makes too many errors and takes too long on the ball, Ginter's not as bad in those areas but he's also slower. Either way I'm taking Süle & Tah ahead of them...even if Vogt should actually be our #3 CB. I'd cut Rüdiger, but don't think it matters much.

Petersen|Gomez;
They're coming along to be a joker if everything goes to shit and we have to lump in crosses at the end of a match, so only 1 is needed. Gomez has the pedigree, but he has historically been less effective as a joker than as a starter, while Petersen is the most prolific Joker in BuLi history...so I'm tempted to leave Mario behind, though ask me about it again tomorrow and I'll give you a different answer.

Plattenhart|Draxler|Khedira;
Plattenhart is just the weak link in this provisional squad, even moreso than Petersen/Gomez; as I'd rather play Rudy than him at LB in a back 4, and I'd rather play Sane than him on the left wing when we play a back 3. He just doesn't bring anything to the table that we need.

Draxler I initially had as one of my cuts because he'd be my 5th choice on the wings, but I've recently been convinced that maybe he really is a miscast 8...which is why he didn't start to flourish in Paris until being played there. And that would put him in a fight with Goretzka & Khedira for a spot behind Ilkay & Mesut; rather than with Sane, Müller, Reus & Brandt on the wing. Which is what made me consider cutting Sami, who may be superfluous if our midfield depth chart looks something like:

Özil/Julian - Ilkay/LeGo
Kroos/Rudy
​

But in the end, I'd rather see Sami on the pitch than Plattenhart, despite all the shit I've talked about him and the desire to remove the temptation of over-playing him from Jogi.

 

[cgf]

I am not going to pretend I watched a ton of Hoffenheim games when Rudy was there..but for Germany he seems to be a guy that whenever he plays you are surprised he did because you didn't see him do anything of note during the match. I suppose his versatility is his strength to some extent and that may secure his spot in the squad..but I don't think I'd be comfortable with him getting regular playing time.

You're not supposed to notice him. His utility is in how swiftly he moves the ball to the players you are supposed to notice, and the structure/rhythm he gives our play by doing so. He's not Toni, but he's the only other player we picked (other than Kimmich) who can sit in front of our backline all game and keep the ball flowing the way we need from our 6...and he has a similarly positive effect on the collective's flow with the ball at FB/WB.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Even without LeGo & Meyer they still have Harit, Konoplyanka, & McKennie; who already played big roles in their midfield for Tedesco...moreso the first two, but McKennie was also a regular in the rotation; especially after Meyer was frozen out. Additionally: Bentaleb is still around; Geis is returning from Sevilla; their academy has some strong talents that Tedesco could use in the midfield (Kübler, Taitague, Tekpetey & Goller being the four that look like they'll be pushing for time with the senior team this coming season).

On the signings front, they've brought in Serdar from Mainz, who has a lot of Demirbay to his game...although I have the same concerns with him that I had with Demirbay before Nagelsmann fixed him, and frankly that I still have Goretzka even after the progress he made under Tedesco. They also signed Skrzybski from my eiserne, who Tedesco may use as an advanced midfielder the way he has Konoplyanka.

I think swapping Bentaleb (and Geis) for (a) deeper midfielder(s) that Tedesco rates more would be a good idea, but they're actually in a pretty good spot where things stand now with:

Harit/Serdar* - Kono/Serdar*
McKennie/Serdar**

*Skrzybski, Kübler & Taitague
**Kübler, Geis & Bentaleb
​

They've been linked to Mascarell, Rudy, Delaney, & Bissouma, with some seriousness...though Dortmund seem more likely to pay the crazy fee for Delaney than Heidel, and I don't see Rudy leaving this summer; even if he's not in Kovac's plans for however long he keeps the job...and some very tenuous rumors connected them to Ziyech & Gbamin.

Probably going to be Bentaleb, McKennie, Serdar and one other player that they bring in. If they don't bring in anyone good, I guess they could always just keep Geis instead of selling him.

 

[cgf]

Probably going to be Bentaleb, McKennie, Serdar and one other player that they bring in. If they don't bring in anyone good, I guess they could always just keep Geis instead of selling him.

A lot also depends on how they plan to play. Cause Tedesco often used two deeper midfielders behind Harit & Kono, or some other pair of advanced midfielders/skilled attackers. So if neither Bentaleb nor Geis can ingratiate themselves with Tedesco, and their kids aren't ready to step up, they could need a few signings to bolster that deeper midfield depth...but if Bentaleb & Geis do progress under Tedesco; or are swapped for option that Tedesco will trust; they're in a pretty solid spot even if they play mostly out of a 3-4-2-1/3-6-1:

Burgstaller/Uth
Harit/Embolo - Kono/Skrzybski
Oczipka/Baba - McKennie/Geis - Serdar/Bentaleb - Caligiuri/Schöpf
Nastasic/Insua - Sane/Naldo - Kehrer/Stambouli

Teuchert, Krüger, Wright, (Reese), Goller, Tekpetey, (Avdijaj), Taitague & Kübler fighting for PT or needing to be sent out on loan.​

 

[Bon Esprit]

Leno, Tah and Petersen are out. 4th player to be announced in a few minutes.

 

[Bon Esprit]

Leroy Sane s out, too

 

[Bon Esprit]

I understand the first three:
Leno has no contract for next season (The Napoli deal fell through yesterday)
As said yesterday, Tah's time will come after this tournament, the nomination of Petersen I never really understood.
Sane is a tricky one. He was really bad vs. Austria, but 90 per cent of te team was.

 

[Ducks76]

I understand the first three:
Leno has no contract for next season (The Napoli deal fell through yesterday)
As said yesterday, Tah's time will come after this tournament, the nomination of Petersen I never really understood.
Sane is a tricky one. He was really bad vs. Austria, but 90 per cent of te team was.

The performance from Sane in N11 and Club are very different. He make an impression as to be completely out of place incl. his body language isn t very good.

 

[Just Win]

I understand the first three:
Leno has no contract for next season (The Napoli deal fell through yesterday)
As said yesterday, Tah's time will come after this tournament, the nomination of Petersen I never really understood.
Sane is a tricky one. He was really bad vs. Austria, but 90 per cent of te team was.

Leno's contract with Leverkusen runs until 2020, he just has activated his buy-out clause and is looking for a new club. But that can't really be the argument. Trapp has been on PSG's bench all season and unless he is happy with that, he is looking for a new club as well. Going into a tourney with 2 out of 3 goalies having no match praxis just doesn't seems smart to me....

Tah is no surprise, not because he isn't good enough but because Löw just never gives him a chance (13 times nominated, only played in 3 games, never more than 45 minues).

Sane just has too much talent to leave him off the team. I would have left Draxler or Rudy at home for him easily.

 

[Bure80]

Later in a half hour sport1 Shows the U17 half final between Dortmund and Leverkusen. Im very exited to see Moukoko for the first time. Maybe you find a stream if you are interested.

 

[cgf]

Later in a half hour sport1 Shows the U17 half final between Dortmund and Leverkusen. Im very exited to see Moukoko for the first time. Maybe you find a stream if you are interested.

Is that a replay? I feel like a link to this match was posted in the prospects thread and I remember watching Moukoko score a pretty goal against the Leverkusen-ers.

 

[Bure80]

Is that a replay? I feel like a link to this match was posted in the prospects thread and I remember watching Moukoko score a pretty goal against the Leverkusen-ers.

No, it was Dortmunds home game. Both teams have their home game, like in CL . The final next week is played in Munich.
Moukoko has awesome Speed for a 13 year old and a very good shot. He nearly scored a very nice freekick Goal.

 

[cgf]

No, it was Dortmunds home game. Both teams have their home game, like in CL . The final next week is played in Munich.

Yeah, I wasn't fully woken up yet...f***in Cali-time!!! can't wait to be back in Chicago...and for some reason thought that had been the final and not the SF

Sounds like Moukoko & OBM were decisive yet again for the two finalists. God do I hope those two can reach their ceilings for the NT.

EDIT:
btw, did you notice Ware Pakia? He's a 2002er that some are starting to hype but I'm generally skeptical of the folks he's getting that hype from & haven't seen him myself to judge.

 

[cgf]

Man, f*** those pill pushers. Like I want to see them fail, but they have the talent to be really exciting next season if they moved Henrichs back to the 8 now that they have Wendell & Weiser to start at FB:

Volland/Alario
Brandt/Paulinho - Kai** - Bailey/Paulinho
Baumgartlinger*** - Henrichs/Schreck
Wendell/Jedvaj - Tah* - Retsos* - Weiser/Lars
Hradecky


**Volland | Brandt | Schreck
***Arranguiz | Lars | Akkaynak | Kohr
*Jedvaj | Sven | Dragovic | Lars
​

Cause without Henrichs moving to the 8, it's not like they'd play a 4-1-3-2 that would be beautiful:

Volland/Brandt - Alario/Brandt
Brandt/Paulinho - Kai** - Bailey/Paulinho
Baumgartlinger/Arranguiz***
Wendell/Henrichs - Tah* - Retsos* - Weiser/Henrichs
Hradecky

**Brandt | Schreck
***Lars | Akkaynak | Kohr
*Jedvaj | Sven | Dragovic | Lars​

 

[Bure80]

EDIT:
btw, did you notice Ware Pakia? He's a 2002er that some are starting to hype but I'm generally skeptical of the folks he's getting that hype from & haven't seen him myself to judge.

If i remember right he came in late. So its not possible to judge him on the few minutes. Beside Moukoko i didnt know a player from the Team.

 

[cgf]

If i remember right he came in late. So its not possible to judge him on the few minutes. Beside Moukoko i didnt know a player from the Team.

He came on around the hour mark, I think, so I was just curious if he got any touches that made you notice him. I know that's nowhere near enough time to judge a player, but it can be enough time to show some flashes, ya know?

 

[Bure80]

Is that a replay? I feel like a link to this match was posted in the prospects thread and I remember watching Moukoko score a pretty goal against the Leverkusen-ers.

The Goal vs Leverkusen in the first match.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

That Dortmund U17 squad is stacked. There might be 2, 3, 4 first team players from that team.

 

[Nalens Oga]

I just realized that Low has brought on 5 CBs and left Sane. Was there really a need for all 5 CBs? Ginter is a great player and all but really needed the flexibility of bringing on Sane instead of him, I don't trust Brandt. And it probably wouldn't have hurt to have Wagner on there too.

 

[cgf]

I just realized that Low has brought on 5 CBs and left Sane. Was there really a need for all 5 CBs? Ginter is a great player and all but really needed the flexibility of bringing on Sane instead of him, I don't trust Brandt. And it probably wouldn't have hurt to have Wagner on there too.

It must certainly would have.

 

[cgf]

@Bon Esprit

Füllkrug to BMG is apparently a medical away from going down. You’ve watched more of him than I, is he the next Stindl or Kruse? Or am I right to worry this will be Drmic 2.0 / the striker version of buying Grifo?

 

[Bon Esprit]

@Bon Esprit

Füllkrug to BMG is apparently a medical away from going down. You’ve watched more of him than I, is he the next Stindl or Kruse? Or am I right to worry this will be Drmic 2.0 / the striker version of buying Grifo?

He is closer to Kruse than to Stindl. IMO our best player.
Gladbach bidding 13m and Kind still says NO. We lost Harnik and Sane. We can't afford to loose Füllkrug. Especially when I read Kind wants Wood from Hamburg as a replacement.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

And let's be real here..13m was a lot of money..10 years ago, now ehh not so much. Wait until an English club comes knocking and ask for 20 then.