Bundesliga 2019/2020 - Matchday 1 - Aug 16-18th

[Tommy]

I think we should call it a day. 45 minutes are enough for one season. 

[nudge]

1 minute ago, Tommy said:

ROUWEN HENNINGS FUßBALLGOTT! We are playing well, considering the circumstances. Werder had the better attacks, but we still seems relatively organized in defence, and Zack Steffen oozes calmness and confidence. Hennings is not the best striker, but he has his moments. Brilliant assist by Karaman as well. 

The Sky commentator mentions that you haven't got a single action in our box for 35 minutes and then you score directly after that  Fucking jinxed it.

[Tommy]

Just now, nudge said:

The Sky commentator mentions that you haven't got a single action in our box for 35 minutes and then you score directly after that  Fucking jinxed it.

Haha yea, noticed that as well. 

[Michael]

13 minutes ago, Tommy said:

ROUWEN HENNINGS FUßBALLGOTT! We are playing well, considering the circumstances. Werder had the better attacks, but we still seems relatively organized in defence, and Zack Steffen oozes calmness and confidence. Hennings is not the best striker, but he has his moments. Brilliant assist by Karaman as well. 

It was a well taken goal by Hennings, but I much prefer Kownacki. Is Kownacki injured? He is a much better striker and he adds much quality to Dusseldorf's attack.

[Tommy]

54 minutes ago, Michael said:

It was a well taken goal by Hennings, but I much prefer Kownacki. Is Kownacki injured? He is a much better striker and he adds much quality to Dusseldorf's attack.

He is recovering from an injury. Hennings has proved his worth more often than Kownacki, so far. 

 

Anyway, what a fucking result. Didn't expect that in a million years. Our attacks were clean and efficient, and despite being a bit of chaotic in the back, we never lost our cool. Lovely goals too. Man... 

 

The commentator sounded a bit disappointed that Bremen lost. Bit biased there 

[nudge]

Congrats @Tommy, well deserved.

Honestly I have no words. Slapstick at the back and not able to convert chances up front; some things just never change. Sure, we were a bit unlucky and Fortuna were extremely effective but it's not acceptable. 

[Tommy]

Just now, nudge said:

Congrats @Tommy, well deserved.

Thank you. I still wish Bremen (and Freiburg for that matter) all the best for the rest of the season 

[nudge]

1 minute ago, Tommy said:

Thank you. I still wish Bremen (and Freiburg for that matter) all the best for the rest of the season 

Ah, I mean it's only one match and our defense barely had 4-5 days to train together so expect it to improve with time; also our attacks weren't that bad (except our finishing) and I'm sure we'll do much better as the season progresses. It's just bloody annoying to see the same thing happening every season without fail  

Hope Toprak is not injured; seemed to struggle throughout the match.

[Michael]

35 minutes ago, nudge said:

Ah, I mean it's only one match and our defense barely had 4-5 days to train together so expect it to improve with time; also our attacks weren't that bad (except our finishing) and I'm sure we'll do much better as the season progresses. It's just bloody annoying to see the same thing happening every season without fail  

Hope Toprak is not injured; seemed to struggle throughout the match.

Bremen are one of those teams who play attractive attacking football, but who are susceptible to counter attacks. I really agree with those who say that they will feel the loss of Kruse. Sure Pizarro is still around, but he's never going to play more than 45 minutes in a game at most. I really don't think that Osako or Sargeant are good enough right now for that central striker role. I like Eggestein and Rashica flanking the central striker, but I really think that Werder will not score the required number of goals this season and I think that they will concede a lot as well.

They really need to try and bring in a more proven goalscorer before the transfer window closes, if they can.

[Michael]

The Gladbach v Schalke game should be interesting. It will be interesting to see how the new signings perform. Gladbach's front line looks impressive, with Thuram-Embolo(playing against his old club today)- Plea looking potent. I like their midfield with Zakaria and Neuhaus in there and I want to see how Benes does today as well. Their defence also looks solid. Gladbach look quite strong favorites for this game,  judging by the starting lineups.

As for Schalke, it will be cool to see how Raman and Kenny perform for them. But Gladbach are strong favorites today in my opinion.

[nudge]

2 minutes ago, Michael said:

Bremen are one of those teams who play attractive attacking football, but who are susceptible to counter attacks. I really agree with those who say that they will feel the loss of Kruse. Sure Pizarro is still around, but he's never going to play more than 45 minutes in a game at most. I really don't think that Osako or Sargeant are good enough right now for that central striker role. I like Eggestein and Rashica flanking the central striker, but I really think that Werder will not score the required number of goals this season and I think that they will concede a lot as well.

They really need to try and bring in a more proven goalscorer before the transfer window closes, if they can.

That's why we tried bringing in Gregoritsch but couldn't as we weren't able to meet Augsburg's demands. Also brought Füllkrug; he's a better fit for that central forward role and I'm sure he'll score a few once he's fully fit; although he's surely no Kruse. The money just isn't there and given that other areas of the squad need to be strengthened as well, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Also while we wasted a lot of chances today, I'm by far more worried about our defense. Fair enough, Toprak has only been here a few days so far and apparently had problems with breathing after a collision in the first half, we're also missing Augustinsson badly on the left; but overall we're still making the same mistakes as always - regardless who plays. We need a proper defensive midfielder too as Bargfrede is permanently injured and Sahin is only good when he has a ball. 

A big problem today was Maxi Eggestein and Klaassen having a poor day so there was virtually no linkup between the defense and attack. 

[Michael]

4 minutes ago, nudge said:

That's why we tried bringing in Gregoritsch but couldn't as we weren't able to meet Augsburg's demands. Also brought Füllkrug; he's a better fit for that central forward role and I'm sure he'll score a few once he's fully fit; although he's surely no Kruse. The money just isn't there and given that other areas of the squad need to be strengthened as well, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Also while we wasted a lot of chances today, I'm by far more worried about our defense. Fair enough, Toprak has only been here a few days so far and apparently had problems with breathing after a collision in the first half, we're also missing Augustinsson badly on the left; but overall we're still making the same mistakes as always - regardless who plays. We need a proper defensive midfielder too as Bargfrede is permanently injured and Sahin is only good when he has a ball. 

A big problem today was Maxi Eggestein and Klaassen having a poor day so there was virtually no linkup between the defense and attack. 

Oh yeah, I forgot about Fullkrug, I prefer him to Osako or Sargeant but like you say, he's still not as good as Kruse was at his peak. I think that Toprak and Mosiander are two very good central defenders, but it's the high line that Werder deploy at times which is a problem. They could get caught out on the counter a fair few times this season because of this system that they deploy. Augustinsson is excellent at left back and Selassie is that bad at right back either. 

If I was the manager of a mid table Bundesliga club, I'd much prefer deploying a counter attacking system, rather than an offensive one. Because we see so many of these offensive mid table clubs getting caught out time and again. They haven't got the quality that a team like Dortmund have or even Leverkusen, who love to attack. Leverkusen concede a lot, but they have a potent attack which enables them to score with a lot of the chances they create. That's not necessarily the case with some of the offensive mid-table clubs in Germany.

Yeah Klaassen needs to get back to form, but I like him, just as I like the Eggestein brothers. But I think that they will finish much lower down the table, than last seasons 8th place position, come the end of this season.

[nudge]

2 minutes ago, Michael said:

Oh yeah, I forgot about Fullkrug, I prefer him to Osako or Sargeant but like you say, he's still not as good as Kruse was at his peak. I think that Toprak and Mosiander are two very good central defenders, but it's the high line that Werder deploy at times which is a problem. They could get caught out on the counter a fair few times this season because of this system that they deploy. Augustinsson is excellent at left back and Selassie is that bad at right back either. 

If I was the manager of a mid table Bundesliga club, I'd much prefer deploying a counter attacking system, rather than an offensive one. Because we see so many of these offensive mid table clubs getting caught out time and again. They haven't got the quality that a team like Dortmund have or even Leverkusen, who love to attack. Leverkusen concede a lot, but they have a potent attack which enables them to score with a lot of the chances they create. That's not necessarily the case with some of the offensive mid-table clubs in Germany.

Yeah Klaassen needs to get back to form, but I like him, just as I like the Eggestein brothers. But I think that they will finish much lower down the table, than last seasons 8th place position, come the end of this season.

Playing attractive attacking football is sort of our trademark and something the fans are proud of... Sure, it would definitely make sense to sit back more and look for opportunities to counter attack instead of going full harakiri football most of the time; but it's kind of against the club philosophy. Conceding loads comes with that mentality, unfortunately  

As for our position at the end of the season, it's hard to say. The potential is there, we demonstrated as much last season already. Yes we lost Kruse, but other than that we kept the core of the squad and added a few solid players. If Baumann makes one or two additional signings (intended to be first team regulars) before the end of the transfer window, I think we will do well. Personally, I think we'll finish in the top 10 but will again fail to qualify for Europe.

[Michael]

1 minute ago, nudge said:

Playing attractive attacking football is sort of our trademark and something the fans are proud of... Sure, it would definitely make sense to sit back more and look for opportunities to counter attack instead of going full harakiri football most of the time; but it's kind of against the club philosophy. Conceding loads comes with that mentality, unfortunately  

As for our position at the end of the season, it's hard to say. The potential is there, we demonstrated as much last season already. Yes we lost Kruse, but other than that we kept the core of the squad and added a few solid players. If Baumann makes one or two additional signings (intended to be first team regulars) before the end of the transfer window, I think we will do well. Personally, I think we'll finish in the top 10 but will again fail to qualify for Europe.

Yeah, that is so true. But the thing is that you could get away with that 10 plus years ago, when Werder had class acts like Diego, Klose, Ozil and a Pizarro at his peak. The Werder team back then were awesome, with several great players. Today's Werder team aren't able to pull of such results on a consistent basis in an ever improving Bundesliga. Well that's my opinion, maybe Kohfeldt can work his magic, but I doubt it. I'd be surprised if Werder finish in the top 10 this season, with all due respect. If Werder make a couple of good signignings, then who knows, but as you have said, they are not exactly loaded, are they. Baumann has his work cut out on that front.

Who would you realistically like Werder to buy before the transfer window slams shut?

[nudge]

8 minutes ago, Michael said:

Yeah, that is so true. But the thing is that you could get away with that 10 plus years ago, when Werder had class acts like Diego, Klose, Ozil and a Pizarro at his peak. The Werder team back then were awesome, with several great players. Today's Werder team aren't able to pull of such results on a consistent basis in an ever improving Bundesliga. Well that's my opinion, maybe Kohfeldt can work his magic, but I doubt it. I'd be surprised if Werder finish in the top 10 this season, with all due respect. If Werder make a couple of good signignings, then who knows, but as you have said, they are not exactly loaded, are they. Baumann has his work cut out on that front.

Who would you realistically like Werder to buy before the transfer window slams shut?

Sure, but having all those class players back then was the result of good scouting, clever deals, and great coaching throughout the years; something that we've been trying to emulate in recent years and I think we're on the right path. I think there's enough quality in the squad and plenty of talent to finish the season in the top 10; just need to stabilise the defense/defensive midfield and we should be able to challenge for European spots.

Hmm good question. Realistically, it's very tough due to financial limitations especially since we need to sign someone who would make a direct impact so I think we need to look at players who are unhappy/not getting enough playing time at their current clubs or good players from "smaller" leagues. Deals like Toprak or Klaassen or Pavlenka are good examples. Semi-realistically, I would love us to sign Soucek from Slavia Prague. Bentaleb is also an option, not exactly a pure defensive midfielder but could be worth the risk. Maybe even try to get Renato Sanches on loan. I'm gutted that loan deal for Heinrichs never materialised... Zürich's Kevin Rüegg could be an interesting option too as he can play both as a right back and as a defensive midfielder. 

[Michael]

43 minutes ago, nudge said:

Sure, but having all those class players back then was the result of good scouting, clever deals, and great coaching throughout the years; something that we've been trying to emulate in recent years and I think we're on the right path. I think there's enough quality in the squad and plenty of talent to finish the season in the top 10; just need to stabilise the defense/defensive midfield and we should be able to challenge for European spots.

Hmm good question. Realistically, it's very tough due to financial limitations especially since we need to sign someone who would make a direct impact so I think we need to look at players who are unhappy/not getting enough playing time at their current clubs or good players from "smaller" leagues. Deals like Toprak or Klaassen or Pavlenka are good examples. Semi-realistically, I would love us to sign Soucek from Slavia Prague. Bentaleb is also an option, not exactly a pure defensive midfielder but could be worth the risk. Maybe even try to get Renato Sanches on loan. I'm gutted that loan deal for Heinrichs never materialised... Zürich's Kevin Rüegg could be an interesting option too as he can play both as a right back and as a defensive midfielder. 

Werder Bremen have been linked with both Soucek and Bentaleb this summer. I personally think that Soucek would be the better option, I prefer him more as a player. Renato Sanches could be a player who would flourish at a team like Werder Bremen, but I doubt he will join, as I expect his wages demands would be quite high. I personally don't think that Kevin Ruegg would be ready for first team football at Werder or at least that he wouldn't add too much if he were to start for Werder at this stage in his career. Renato Sanches is on another level to him right now for example.

If I were Baumann, I'd try and get Soucek as he is a realistic option, who would probably improve Werder right now. But I agree, Werder really do need to bring in at least 2 more players that would improve the team, before the transfer window closes.

[nudge]

3 minutes ago, Michael said:

Werder Bremen have been linked with both Soucek and Bentaleb this summer. I personally think that Soucek would be the better option, I prefer him more as a player. Renato Sanches could be a player who would flourish at a team like Werder Bremen, but I doubt he will join, as I expect his wages demands would be quite high. I personally don't think that Kevin Ruegg would be ready for first team football at Werder or at least that he wouldn't add too much if he were to start for Werder at this stage in his career. Renato Sanches is on another level to him right now for example.

If I were Baumann, I'd try and get Soucek as he is a realistic option, who would probably improve Werder right now. But I agree, Werder really do need to bring in at least 2 more players that would improve the team, before the transfer window closes.

Soucek is not very realistic unfortunately given that he just signed a new contract with Slava a while ago and thus is most likely way too expensive for us now  But I also think he'd be ideal for us... 

It's indeed hard to build a team with our resources; I surely don't envy Baumann...

[Michael]

1 minute ago, nudge said:

Soucek is not very realistic unfortunately given that he just signed a new contract with Slava a while ago and thus is most likely way too expensive for us now  But I also think he'd be ideal for us... 

It's indeed hard to build a team with our resources; I surely don't envy Baumann...

Any idea what Werder can spend on players right now before the summer transfer season is over? Even if Soucek has signed a new contract with Slavia Prague, Czech clubs don't really ask a hell of a lot for their players. So I am thinking that he would cost 10 million Euros or 15 million Euros max. Can Werder not even muster 10 million Euros for a player?

[nudge]

1 minute ago, Michael said:

Any idea what Werder can spend on players right now before the summer transfer season is over? Even if Soucek has signed a new contract with Slavia Prague, Czech clubs don't really ask a hell of a lot for their players. So I am thinking that he would cost 10 million Euros or 15 million Euros max. Can Werder not even muster 10 million Euros for a player?

Well it's the question of willing to spend rather than being able to spend. We had serious financial issues in the past and have started breaking even/recording small profits again recently so the management is understandably reluctant to take risks and invest money they barely have. We didn't sell any players this summer while we signed Füllkrug, Friedl, and Toprak (so approx. 13 million Euro altogether); there might be a bit of money that we're willing to spend still but I don't think that includes spending 10-15 million on a single player. Gregoritsch is a good example; he's been Kohfeldt's top priority signing but we weren't willing to meet the transfer fee demanded by Augsburg which was said to be between 10 and 15 million. Can't see it changing now. 

[Michael]

9 minutes ago, nudge said:

Well it's the question of willing to spend rather than being able to spend. We had serious financial issues in the past and have started breaking even/recording small profits again recently so the management is understandably reluctant to take risks and invest money they barely have. We didn't sell any players this summer while we signed Füllkrug, Friedl, and Toprak (so approx. 13 million Euro altogether); there might be a bit of money that we're willing to spend still but I don't think that includes spending 10-15 million on a single player. Gregoritsch is a good example; he's been Kohfeldt's top priority signing but we weren't willing to meet the transfer fee demanded by Augsburg which was said to be between 10 and 15 million. Can't see it changing now. 

I get what you are saying. It seems like Werder want to keep their finances in reasonable shape and don't want to risk spending too much money. I am an advocate of buying young prospects and then developing them by giving them playing time. Having too many older players in the team, isn't the best of investment strategy's from a business point of view. Werder have quite a few players who are 30 years old or older, such as Sahin, Langkamp, Harnik, Mosiander, Toprak, Bartels, Selassie, Bargfrede and the soon to be 41 year old Pizarro. While Osako is 29. So that's like 10 regulars who will have very low potential sell on transfer fees.

Clubs like Mainz and Augsburg, who also don't have too much money, do a reasonable job of buying young players with good potential for under 10 million Euros. I think that Werder would do well to try and follow their lead and try not to have so many older players in their squad. Good luck to Werder this season though and I hope that they manage to bring in a couple of useful players, in the next two weeks.

[nudge]

10 minutes ago, Michael said:

I get what you are saying. It seems like Werder want to keep their finances in reasonable shape and don't want to risk spending too much money. I am an advocate of buying young prospects and then developing them by giving them playing time. Having too many older players in the team, isn't the best of investment strategy's from a business point of view. Werder have quite a few players who are 30 years old or older, such as Sahin, Langkamp, Harnik, Mosiander, Toprak, Bartels, Selassie, Bargfrede and the soon to be 41 year old Pizarro. While Osako is 29. So that's like 10 regulars who will have very low potential sell on transfer fees.

Clubs like Mainz and Augsburg, who also don't have too much money, do a reasonable job of buying young players with good potential for under 10 million Euros. I think that Werder would do well to try and follow their lead and try not to have so many older players in their squad. Good luck to Werder this season though and I hope that they manage to bring in a couple of useful players, in the next two weeks.

You might have a point but personally, I think we have a good balance when it comes to the age of the players in the squad. We've been stuck in a transitional period for years with many management, staff and massive structural changes within the club; the process is still ongoing with some stability and continuity finally starting to settle in. We finally have a good and ambitious head coach, a capable sporting director, some key players who are just entering their best years like Pavlenka, Augustinsson, Klaassen plus young talented players like the Eggestein brothers, Rashica, Sargent, Veljkovic, Friedl who all are also first team regulars; at least a few of those will most likely leave the club in the next year or two for a solid fee. On top of that, we have a bunch of upcoming youngsters from our youth ranks that have been loaned out to the clubs in lower divisions or abroad in order to gain more experience; some seem to be quite promising.

As for the Ü-30 players you mentioned: Pizarro, Moisander, Gebre Selassie, Bartels and Bargfrede have all been solid, reliable players for years despite the tough times and all played an important role helping the club avoid relegation in the last decade and their experience is still priceless. That's worth more for me than any potential transfer fee they could have commanded at some point of their careers, but now we're naturally looking for replacements for the near future as they won't be able to help us much longer so the squad will naturally become rejuvenated. Sahin, Langkamp, Harnik were all signed as backups or emergency signings due to injury crisis at some point and didn't even cost us 5 million Euro in total so there's no loss there either. Toprak has similarly been signed mostly because of our current injury crisis in defense but is also a bargain for the player of his caliber anyway.

With all due respect to Mainz and Augsburg, regardless of their policies and philosophies, it's not as if they're doing much better than us in terms of performances though? I like the idea of developing young players too, but not just for the sake of selling them for profit in a year or two while being stuck in the mid- or lower table for eternity. We have ambitions of slowly working our way back up to the top 7 and playing in European competitions again; I think you can't rely solely on young players for that and need some experience at the core of the team as well. 

[Tommy]

FOR

TU

NA

Man, I am still buzzing. What a fucking result. When I woke up today, I had a bad feeling in my gut, like we'll be getting trashed, and I was hoping for a miracle that would have been a point. But man, 3:1 in Bremen, and we also had the chance to make it 4:1. Unbelievable. And we were still missing some key players. No reason to get ahead of ourselves though. Every point counts to stay in the league. 

[nudge]

10 hours ago, Tommy said:

FOR

TU

NA

Man, I am still buzzing. What a fucking result. When I woke up today, I had a bad feeling in my gut, like we'll be getting trashed, and I was hoping for a miracle that would have been a point. But man, 3:1 in Bremen, and we also had the chance to make it 4:1. Unbelievable. And we were still missing some key players. No reason to get ahead of ourselves though. Every point counts to stay in the league. 

Imagine if those 3 points is the only thing separating you from relegation spot at the end of the season  

Also Thommy with an assist yesterday 

[Tommy]

Just now, nudge said:

Imagine if those 3 points is the only thing separating you from relegation spot at the end of the season  

Also Thommy with an assist yesterday 

I hope not, but could be.

 

Yes, lovely one too. The whole attack was great. Really smooth cross from Baker, than the way Thommy set up the opportunity for Karaman. Great goal

Also, why does Pavlenka look like Pierre Gasly? 

[nudge]

1 minute ago, Tommy said:

Also, why does Pavlenka look like Pierre Gasly? 

The real question is, why does Gasly look like Pavlenka?