Werder Bremen Thread

[Eco]

58 minutes ago, nudge said:

News from the press conference:

Captain/vice-captain stays the same (Moisander/Klaassen)
Rashica and Mbom are not in the matchday squad against Jena
The players and the club have reached an agreement over further salary reduction.

That is certainly troubling about Rashica...if he is on his way out, that is going to be Bremen's task a lot more difficult. 

[nudge]

8 minutes ago, Eco said:

That is certainly troubling about Rashica...if he is on his way out, that is going to be Bremen's task a lot more difficult. 

Well he wants out and we want to sell him to generate money, so him leaving is almost a given...

[Eco]

Just now, nudge said:

Well he wants out and we want to sell him to generate money, so him leaving is almost a given...

Yeah, that makes sense. I wasn't aware that he wanted out. 

[nudge]

 

[nudge]

Well, how's that for a dejavu - Toprak has picked up an injury again and is out  Meanwhile, Veljkovic is not yet 100% fit. 

[Rebel Yelle]

So, does a loss to Schalke end the Kohlfeldt era?

[nudge]

14 minutes ago, Rebel Yelle said:

So, does a loss to Schalke end the Kohlfeldt era?

One would expect that, but since Werder is a gift that keeps on giving, I reckon the answer is no... 

[DeadLinesman]

2 losses in one day 

[Rucksackfranzose]

9 hours ago, Rebel Yelle said:

So, does a loss to Schalke end the Kohlfeldt era?

 

8 hours ago, nudge said:

One would expect that, but since Werder is a gift that keeps on giving, I reckon the answer is no... 

Honestly, sacking the manager after, checks notes, 2 matches in the season would be a bit panicked, wouldn't it?

Edited September 20, 2020 by Rucksackfranzose

[Bluewolf]

Must be gutting... had a pretty good pre-season as well didn't you.. looked promising 

[nudge]

25 minutes ago, Rucksackfranzose said:

 

Honestly, sacking the manager after, checks notes, 2 matches in the season would be a bit panicked, wouldn't it?

I'd normally agree, and I'm generally not the one to call for the manager's head, but the way I see it, this is a continuation of last season without learning from own mistakes and making any changes. If it comes to it, I'd rather sack him two matches into the season than witness another 32 matches like that and get relegated or barely avoid it again, only to repeat it over and over again. The problem is, our dire financial situation means that the replacement would probably be even worse, so I honestly don't see a way out. 

[nudge]

28 minutes ago, Bluewolf said:

Must be gutting... had a pretty good pre-season as well didn't you.. looked promising 

To me it seems that both the manager and the team still have some sort of a mental block when it comes to competitive matches. Not sure how to explain it otherwise. 

[Devil-Dick Willie]

10 hours ago, nudge said:

To me it seems that both the manager and the team still have some sort of a mental block when it comes to competitive matches. Not sure how to explain it otherwise. 

I can't blame the team in the formation that was played for what happened there. 

[nudge]

Just now, Devil-Dick Willie said:

I can't blame the team in the formation that was played for what happened there. 

No, that's certainly on the manager - but going into full panic mode after conceding the first goal once again signals issues with mental strength of the team as well, especially since it's been a recurring theme. 

[Eco]

11 hours ago, nudge said:

I'd normally agree, and I'm generally not the one to call for the manager's head, but the way I see it, this is a continuation of last season without learning from own mistakes and making any changes. If it comes to it, I'd rather sack him two matches into the season than witness another 32 matches like that and get relegated or barely avoid it again, only to repeat it over and over again. The problem is, our dire financial situation means that the replacement would probably be even worse, so I honestly don't see a way out. 

Why the sure financial situation? 

[nudge]

2 hours ago, Eco said:

Why the sure financial situation? 

I think you meant "dire"  Anyway, it's a long story with quite a few nuances. Short version: we always had limited resources and depended on good scouting and smart dealings in the transfer market. Due to domestic achievements and regular participation in CL/UEFA Cup in the early to late 2000s, we generated a healthy stream of income and our financial state was healthy, so we were able to attract decent players and offer them decent salaries. On top of that, during this phase when everything was still was going well, the club decided to expand the stadium. The estimated costs were around 50-60 million, but due to various factors (increased steel prices, etc.) it wasn't feasible and in the end a simple modernisation of the stadium (even without the planned capacity increase) cost us 80 million instead. It was still all fine as long as we were finishing in the top 6; in fact the whole club expenditure was based on a somewhat naive belief that it's going to be the case for years to come. Unfortunately, we were regularly losing our key players to bigger clubs (usually for much too low fees too), the replacements weren't good enough, our performances started to drop, we started missing out on European spots and financial rewards that come with it, all while the squad was still largely made of players with salaries fitting for a club with CL ambitions. So essentially, we brought in players on high salaries who mostly failed to deliver (so we struggled to sell them for profit as well), we hired and then sacked managers each of whom turned out to be worse than the previous one, we failed to reach our sporting goals as a result, so the expenditure kept on growing while the income was decreasing massively. We went from making profit to making huge losses each year, so it was not sustainable and the club went on an extreme saving course. The financial situation got better after a while and we stopped making losses in recent few years, but then corona hit in 2020 and it meant that we lost around 40-50 million last season, which for a club of our stature is a loooooot of money. So now we're back to where we were a few years ago - poor financial state, no sporting achievements, danger of relegation.

[Eco]

Apologies @nudge, my phone has a strange autocorrect.

[Devil-Dick Willie]

@nudge Fun game. If we were to replace Kohfeldt tomorrow, BUT it had to be Dutt, Skrypnyk or Nouri, who would you pick? Or would you keep Kohfeldt?

[nudge]

1 minute ago, Devil-Dick Willie said:

@nudge Fun game. If we were to replace Kohfeldt tomorrow, BUT it had to be Dutt, Skrypnyk or Nouri, who would you pick? Or would you keep Kohfeldt?

Easy, keep Kohfeldt. Under him we at least try to actually play football and the players also like him; the other three still give me nightmares. 

[Devil-Dick Willie]

Just now, nudge said:

Easy, keep Kohfeldt. Under him we at least try to actually play football and the players also like him; the other three still give me nightmares. 

Nouri is my choice.

[nudge]

7 minutes ago, Devil-Dick Willie said:

Nouri is my choice.

Nouri in his first stint was good, so I can see why. Nouri in his second stint was bloody awful though and had absolutely no support within the squad. Add to that the power trip he went on, and nah, I'll pass. 

[SchalkeUK]

Oh dear!

Last night I listened to Chelsea supporters ranting about the defeat against Liverpool.  They had a defender dismissed for a very stupid tackle, a penalty awarded and missed and the keeper made an error which led to a goal.  No thoughts on Liverpool's performance, no idea that playing 45 minutes with 10 men could have been responsible - it was 0-0 at the time of the sending off, and very little comment on the missed penalty - it was all the keeper's fault!

Now Werder and 04 are down at the bottom with Gladbach!  Three performances which could have been better, but no one is talking about Gladbach - one of my tips for the Top 4.  It's only day 1 and if anyone seriously thought 04 could give Bayern a game at the moment then they are as daft as the Chelsea gang.  Werder are also better than that one off game so far - please, please hold on - there is plenty of time between now and December to sort things - then will be the time for recrimination and changes, but instilling a lack of confidence in the Manager and his players is not something to do today.  So DW made bad choices of selection and Kohfeldt has a poor start to 2020/21, but we live with that sort of thing every day and Boris and Donald are still in power!  At least the Chelsea guys never once suggested getting rid of Frank!

Patience my friends - and support your local Sheriff - even if his guns seem short of bullets for now!

Sei net!

Edited September 21, 2020 by SchalkeUK

[nudge]

13 minutes ago, SchalkeUK said:

Oh dear!

Last night I listened to Chelsea supporters ranting about the defeat against Liverpool.  They had a defender dismissed for a very stupid tackle, a penalty awarded and missed and the keeper made an error which led to a goal.  No thoughts on Liverpool's performance, no idea that playing 45 minutes with 10 men could have been responsible - it was 0-0 at the time of the sending off, and very little comment on the missed penalty - it was all the keeper's fault!

Now Werder and 04 are down at the bottom with Gladbach!  Three performances which could have been better, but no one is talking about Gladbach - one of my tips for the Top 4.  It's only day 1 and if anyone seriously thought 04 could give Bayern a game at the moment then they are as daft as the Chelsea gang.  Werder are also better than that one off game so far - please, please hold on - there is plenty of time between now and December to sort things - then will be the time for recrimination and changes, but instilling a lack of confidence in the Manager and his players is not something to do today.  So DW made bad choices of selection and Kohfeldt has a poor start to 2020/21, but we live with that sort of thing every day and Boris and Donald are still in power!  At least the Chelsea guys never once suggested getting rid of Frank!

Patience my friends - and support your local Sheriff - even if his guns seem short of bullets for now!

Sei net!

Don't care about Chelsea, Gladbach or Schalke; nor are these clubs in the same situation anyway. In case of Werder, it's not about judging the manager/squad after 1 matchday, it's about worrying about what seems to be the continuation of last season, and that's what the problem is. It's only natural that the manager is questioned after he was nearly sacked last season due to poor performances, promised huge changes, and then kept on doing the same things that got him and us in trouble in the first place. 

[DeadLinesman]

Just now, nudge said:

Don't care about Chelsea, Gladbach or Schalke; nor are these clubs in the same situation anyway. In case of Werder, it's not about judging the manager/squad after 1 matchday, it's about worrying about what seems to be the continuation of last season, and that's what the problem is. It's only natural that the manager is questioned after he was nearly sacked last season due to poor performances, promised huge changes, and then kept on doing the same things that got him and us in trouble in the first place. 

For a minute, I thought you were talking about United 

[Eco]

29 minutes ago, SchalkeUK said:

Oh dear!

Last night I listened to Chelsea supporters ranting about the defeat against Liverpool.  They had a defender dismissed for a very stupid tackle, a penalty awarded and missed and the keeper made an error which led to a goal.  No thoughts on Liverpool's performance, no idea that playing 45 minutes with 10 men could have been responsible - it was 0-0 at the time of the sending off, and very little comment on the missed penalty - it was all the keeper's fault!

Now Werder and 04 are down at the bottom with Gladbach!  Three performances which could have been better, but no one is talking about Gladbach - one of my tips for the Top 4.  It's only day 1 and if anyone seriously thought 04 could give Bayern a game at the moment then they are as daft as the Chelsea gang.  Werder are also better than that one off game so far - please, please hold on - there is plenty of time between now and December to sort things - then will be the time for recrimination and changes, but instilling a lack of confidence in the Manager and his players is not something to do today.  So DW made bad choices of selection and Kohfeldt has a poor start to 2020/21, but we live with that sort of thing every day and Boris and Donald are still in power!  At least the Chelsea guys never once suggested getting rid of Frank!

Patience my friends - and support your local Sheriff - even if his guns seem short of bullets for now!

Sei net!

Interesting post...and I have a few points I'd like to add for context purposes. 

Schalke got destroyed by the best team in the world, who appear to be better than they were last year. 

Gladbach lost to the second best team in Germany, and played well, but just didn't have enough. 

Werder lost to a club that suffers from massive identity issues. Something Hertha are the club that appears to try and bring up youth and play the long game, then the next week they will get the itch, and spend money that would leave you to believe they should be a top 3-4 team in Germany. 

The point is, I did peg either Schalke, Gladbach, or Werder to go down, and I still don't think they will. 

If Werder can not lose any players before the close of the transfer window, and especially keep hold of Rashica, I do think they will remain in the Bundesliga. I didn't watch the Bremen match, but I will watch the replay either today or tomorrow, but if what @Devil-Dick Willie and @nudge are saying is correct about the formation and tactics, then I can only hope that this is an issue that Bremen can recover from. 

I do the think future of Bremen, sadly, rests on the hopes of other teams performing worse over the course of the year. I'm still not sold on Freiburg this year after all they have lost (although they do appear to have done a good job in replacing their losses), Stuttgart, Koln, Mainz, Arminia, and sadly even Augsburg are no way out of this conversation. 

I still think Bremen have too much talent to go down, and I hope that they do get a result against Schalke this weekend to bring the hopes of some of their fans just a little bit. 

Schalke were beaten by a scoreline that was misleading to me, as they didn't seem to give a shit after the 4th or 5th goal, which is sad to see, but it's likely that this won't even be Bayern's biggest win of the year with the team they have assembled. 

Bremen will stay up, not comfortably, but I do think they stay up this year. Would be an absolutely tragedy if they were to get relegated this year.