nudge Posted August 18, 2019 Author Posted August 18, 2019 What an amazing initiative by Union Berlin for the relatives of deceased Union fans. They are making big posters from their pictures and will bring them into the stadium (around 450 in total!) for their first ever 1. Bundesliga match so that they could at least symbolically be a part of it.
nudge Posted August 18, 2019 Author Posted August 18, 2019 Frankfurt score 40 seconds into the game Hinteregger.
nudge Posted August 18, 2019 Author Posted August 18, 2019 Sky trying to manipulate Hannes Wolf and Urs Fischer into saying that Union fan protest against RB is nonsense; they're having none of it
Moderator Tommy Posted August 18, 2019 Moderator Posted August 18, 2019 Frankfurt vs. Hoffenheim was pretty even, but Frankfurt was just a bit more clever.
Moderator Tommy Posted August 18, 2019 Moderator Posted August 18, 2019 Ironically one minute after the Union fans stopped their protest.
nudge Posted August 18, 2019 Author Posted August 18, 2019 Just now, Tommy said: 0:2 That rain is intense. Completely unnecessary too... Poor ball by the keeper.
nudge Posted August 18, 2019 Author Posted August 18, 2019 Hope Union manage to score today. Would be at least some consolation for them and for the fans.
Michael Posted August 18, 2019 Posted August 18, 2019 On 18/08/2019 at 01:25, nudge said: 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. I think that Werder have a very decent team and that good experienced players are always valuable. But I just think that Werder have a bit too many older players in their squad. About 50% of their squad consists of older players, 25% of players in their mid 20's and 25% of their squad can be considered as young players. From a business perspective(which football has become), I'd prefer the number of older players in the squad to be around the 25% mark. I do like the core of their team though, Werder do have some quality players. Klaassen, the Eggestein brothers and Rashica form an exciting basis in midfield and on offense. While the back line does look impressive. Mosiander and Toprak are both experienced and solid defenders. While Augustinsson is probably one of the best left backs in the Bundesliga. While Selassie at right back is usually very reliable. My only fear for the defence, is that the high line that they usually play, will always make them susceptible to counter attacks. As for Pavlenka, he has been impressive on a whole since he joined Werder. If it is true that Werder have serious ambitions of being a club that consistently finishes in the top 7, then that is great news. But where will they get the money to achieve that goal. Because while I do agree that Werder could potentially finish in the top 7 this season, I can't necessarily say that they can do that on a consistent basis given the squad they have. Unlike sides like Leverkusen and RB Leipzig, where I can confidently say that they will definitely finish in the top 7 or even the top 5. Werder will need money to improve their team, but where will they get that money from, if as you suggest, they don't have that much money. I wish Werder all the best with their lofty ambitions, but success will require more transfer funds than they appear to have right now.
Michael Posted August 18, 2019 Posted August 18, 2019 9 hours ago, nudge said: Frankfurt score 40 seconds into the game Hinteregger. I expected us to go on and score more after our excellent start, but alas I will take the narrow 1-0 against Hoffenheim. The 3 points is the main thing that concerns me against a tough Hoffenheim side.
nudge Posted August 18, 2019 Author Posted August 18, 2019 6 minutes ago, Michael said: If it is true that Werder have serious ambitions of being a club that consistently finishes in the top 7, then that is great news. But where will they get the money to achieve that goal. Because while I do agree that Werder could potentially finish in the top 7 this season, I can't necessarily say that they can do that on a consistent basis given the squad they have. Unlike sides like Leverkusen and RB Leipzig, where I can confidently say that they will definitely finish in the top 7 or even the top 5. Werder will need money to improve their team, but where will they get that money from, if as you suggest, they don't have that much money. I wish Werder all the best with their lofty ambitions, but success will require more transfer funds than they appear to have right now. That's why it's important to qualify for Europe. Money for participating from UEFA; more money from finishing higher in the league; more TV money; more money from the sponsors; more willingness to take risks and invest more into the squad; better chances of attracting good players and young talents; better chances to keep the best ones in the club for longer and sell them for higher transfer fees later; etc. etc. etc.
Michael Posted August 19, 2019 Posted August 19, 2019 8 hours ago, nudge said: That's why it's important to qualify for Europe. Money for participating from UEFA; more money from finishing higher in the league; more TV money; more money from the sponsors; more willingness to take risks and invest more into the squad; better chances of attracting good players and young talents; better chances to keep the best ones in the club for longer and sell them for higher transfer fees later; etc. etc. etc. Yes, I completely agree. Hopefully Werder make that step up this season and qualify for Europe, but it is a very big challenge for them, given the competition. It would be great to see them back to being one of the top Bundesliga clubs again. I would really like them to make 1 or 2 more good signings before the transfer window closes.
nudge Posted August 21, 2019 Author Posted August 21, 2019 2 hours ago, Tommy said: He was unbelievable. On any other day we would have scored at least 2-3 more goals and probably won the match; so frustrating. Do you think Wolf or Rensing will be #1 once they are not injured and fit?
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