2011-12 Bundesliga - Dortmund Champion

[Yellow Flash]

i don't think so. there has to be a Re-match of the second leg. every other ruling by the DFB would be a scandal.

[Foye]

i don't think so. there has to be a Re-match of the second leg. every other ruling by the DFB would be a scandal.

The DFB would never make an honest decision just like the UEFA would never make a good rule change.

[Det the Threat]

I am calling it: the result will be upheld, so that Fortuna promotes and Hertha relegates - and both will start with -3 points for their long list of transgressions.

I think they'll decide that Duesseldorf will get promoted, but has to play an amount of 1 - 3 home games without fans while also being handed a fine as well.

Hertha will be charged with up to three away games without their supporters and forced to pay a fine as well.

As for the players.
I think Kobiashvili will be banned about 10 matches, Lell, Mijatovic and Kraft will be banned for 1 - 5 matches(Lell the most), while Lambertz will be banned about 3 matches as well.

i don't think so. there has to be a Re-match of the second leg. every other ruling by the DFB would be a scandal.

I'm not sure of that.
There's really no right ruling here, as both sides did wrong and both teams fans as well.
Handing Hertha another chance with a rematch would tell their supporters that their actions are OK, which they aren't, and promoting Duesseldorf will not really send a great massage to their organisers as well.

[Point forward]

VIZEKUSEN was yesterday.

VIZEBAYERN reigns supreme :X

[cgf]

VIZEKUSEN was yesterday.

VIZEBAYERN reigns supreme :X

I wonder what they do to fix that. Dante's a good start cause now they at least have 3 guys who aren't bad CBs, but they need another outside guy if Contento's the top option off the bench over Rafinha, and getting a quality backup for Gustavo is crucial as well. They play best with Kroos in the middle up front and Mueller's best on the wing, but unless one of Robben or Ribery leaves they won't be able to accomplish that with Shaqiri joining their glut out wide, and even if they did they'd need a quality backup for Kroos at the very least if not someone even better than Kroos. Plus they need a better striker than Gomez, the man just lacks the skill for big games.

IMO a dream Bayern offseason looks something like this:
-Sell one of RIbery or Robben
-Sign a guy like Cavani or Higuain if you can't get him to start over Gomez
-Sign someone to compete with Kroos, either a young backup that can grow to challenge him like Christian Eriksen or a legit upgrade like Cavani's team-mates Hamsik
-Sign someone to compete with Louis Gustavo, similar to Kroos, you don't need an upgrade but an upgrade that made their current guy a backup would be great for them.
-Sign someone to backup Lahm or Alaba that's a quality starter, probably best going for a vet like Darijo Srna if you can get him.
-Sign Dante to rotate with Badstuber and Boateng but keep your eyes out for a significant upgrade, someone that could be a defensive rock that shielded from Boateng and Badstuber's youth.

[Point forward]

I wonder what they do to fix that. Dante's a good start cause now they at least have 3 guys who aren't bad CBs, but they need another outside guy if Contento's the top option off the bench over Rafinha, and getting a quality backup for Gustavo is crucial as well. They play best with Kroos in the middle up front and Mueller's best on the wing, but unless one of Robben or Ribery leaves they won't be able to accomplish that with Shaqiri joining their glut out wide, and even if they did they'd need a quality backup for Kroos at the very least if not someone even better than Kroos. Plus they need a better striker than Gomez, the man just lacks the skill for big games.

IMO a dream Bayern offseason looks something like this:
-Sell one of RIbery or Robben
-Sign a guy like Cavani or Higuain if you can't get him to start over Gomez
-Sign someone to compete with Kroos, either a young backup that can grow to challenge him like Christian Eriksen or a legit upgrade like Cavani's team-mates Hamsik
-Sign someone to compete with Louis Gustavo, similar to Kroos, you don't need an upgrade but an upgrade that made their current guy a backup would be great for them.
-Sign someone to backup Lahm or Alaba that's a quality starter, probably best going for a vet like Darijo Srna if you can get him.
-Sign Dante to rotate with Badstuber and Boateng but keep your eyes out for a significant upgrade, someone that could be a defensive rock that shielded from Boateng and Badstuber's youth.

Pretty good write up. But I think Bayern needs major retooling, because their mistakes run far deeper than just replacing a few players.

* INEFFICIENCY - Under van Gaal, Bayern is a a "hi ball possession % team", but seldomly converts this into scoring opportunities.

* PREDICTABILITY - Everytime, the ball goes to the wings, and now even the last idiot knows that Robben only has one move ("fake right, dribble left"), and Ribery is not much better ("dribble hi speed into the left corner of the box"). Kroos and Müller are too inconsistent, and Gomez has too many games in which he does not contribute, b/c he is a miserable back to the goal player.

* ERROR PRONE - too many individual errors, especially on defense. They have too little games in which they keep a clean sheet, and use too many chances until they score. A more flexible striker than Gomez (or just adding a 2nd striker) would be good.
** SOFT VS COUNTERS - the main corollary. Counters are mind bogglingly effective vs Bayern. The 2 best counter teams in the BL are Dortmund and Gladbach, and Bayern lost ALL FOUR MATCHES.

* THIN BENCH - Also since van Gaal, Bayern relies on maybe 13-14 equally strong players, but then there is a sharp divide to the rest (Pranjic, Petersen, Usami etc.) - not good if you are injury prone, and especially bad if you want to make some people earn their starting places.

* LOSER MENTALITY - Too many players now who assosicate "Finals" with "loss" - Robben, Ribery, Schweinsteiger, but also too many "too nice" players like Kroos, Gomez, Tymoshchuk etc.

TL;DR: Bayern has become Leverkusen. Time to change back

[bbms]

Bayern would look less predictable if they changed Robben position.

They could mirror Dortmundo 4-4-1-1, with Robben as trequartista, like Kagawa. At the middle, Robben couuld play more off the ball. His on the ball game is predictable indeed, but at the middle he would look for off the ball runs more often , would have 3 directions to go, giving more troubles to opposing DMs.

Muller also looks better in my eyes at the right wing than at the middle.He simply doesn't have the quickness to dominate in the middle, but at German's national team, he's shown he's able to dominate in the right wing, and interplay really well with Özil.

-----------------Gomez
----------------Robben
---Ribery-------------------Muller
---------Gustavo*-Schwein
Alaba*-Badstuber-Dante-Lahm

Alaba and Gustavo or Contento and Kroos.

[5DOM]

Tbh, I don't think shifting Robben into a more central role will change much. It seems to me like he already has all the freedom in the world to do whatever he likes at Bayern, and that IMO is actually a problem because he's rather predictable. Ironically, I think he could benefit from having a manager like Mourinho or at least a more senior player who can tell him to stick to what he's good at.

[J-Mezzy]

Bayern finished 2nd in Bundesliga, Champions, and German Cup. I think the only moves they can make is get another striker who can dribble the ball and improve their defense, other than that, they are set.

[Foye]

Tbh, I don't think shifting Robben into a more central role will change much. It seems to me like he already has all the freedom in the world to do whatever he likes at Bayern, and that IMO is actually a problem because he's rather predictable. Ironically, I think he could benefit from having a manager like Mourinho or at least a more senior player who can tell him to stick to what he's good at.

Robben in a central role would be horrible, IMO. He's not a very good passer nor does he have a good right foot. He simply can't play any position but right midfielder effectively on high level.

Munich's offense has become way too predictable and good defensive teams have figured out how to stop them. They need to shake things up up front. Ribery is still very effective and often breaks down opposing defenses so he's definitely a keeper. Robben has lost a step compared to his great year in 2010 and should be sold in case they get a good offer. Eventually, Munich will find a younger replacement in case Müller/Shaqiri don't work out in the Champions League but they should.

Option A:
Sell Robben for 25-30 mil. and put 10 on top to get Cavani/Dzeko as striker next to Gomez.

--------------Gomez-----------------
---------Cavani/Dzeko--------------
Ribery----------Müller/Shaqiri--
--Gustavo/Kroos--Schweini----
Alaba-Holger-Dante/Boa-Lahm
-------------Neuer----------------
That leaves you with a less predictable right midfield that can make crosses to Gomez/Cavani but also look for their own shot unlike Robben who basically always looks for his own off target shot in big games.

Option B:
Keep Robben and go after Hamsik or Hazard to get more creativity out of the central midfield. Kroos and Müller both have flaws. Müller isn't creative enough to consistently make great passes to Gomez and Kroos lacks the speed and goal instinct. Kroos also always disappears in big games.

----------------Gomez-----------------
Ribery--Hamsik/Hazard-Robben
-------Gustavo----Schweini--------
Alaba--Holger-Dante/Boa-Lahm
---------------Neuer------------------

Option C:

Buy Kevin Prince Boateng from AC Milan to have a new "aggressive leader" in the Mark van Bommel and Stefan Effenberg mold. They certainly lack that. Gustavo is an aggressive player but he doesn't have the authority and charisma to turn games around and is also flawed offensively.
While Boateng isn't the player Effenberg was and probably never will be he certainly has that kind of aggressiveness in him.

[Det the Threat]

Bayern just extended Robben's contract if I'm not mistaken.

So option A is not a possibility.

I agree with you in that Bayern is pretty much predictable and I'd rather play them then Dortmund any day of the week.

The most interesting part will be my team, Borussia Moenchengladbach.
We'll lose two of the best Bundesliga players at their respective positions(Reus and Dante) and also a starting central midfielder in Neustaedter.

We just signed a replacement for Neustaedter in Granit Xhaka from FC Basel.
There's also rumors out there that we'll sign a striker within the next couple of days.
Many speculating it will be David Hoillet of Blackburn Rovers on a "free transfer".

I'm also courios to see who we'll sign as an replacement for Dante and some are linking us to Montpellier's Mapu Yanga-Mbiwa who's only got one more year left on his contract.

[5DOM]

Junior Hoilett on a free would be a major coup for any club.

[Foye]

One of Munich's major problems is that they keep on dominating the ball too much without creating clear chances.
They needed to get rid of their ball possession moral and start to let other teams take care of the ball more. That would automatically give them a better chance to beat Dortmund considering Dortmund's greatest skill is the counter attack and they are prone to mental lapses, too, when they have to take care of the game and create chances against defensive teams.

[Point forward]

The DFB has confirmed that result of the violent Düsseldorf-Hertha relegation Game 2 (2-2, Düsseldorf promotes after 2-1 in Game 1) is upheld. As expected, Hertha will appeal to the German Arbitration Court - and if that does not work, they will most probably try the last possibility - appeal to the EU Arbitration Court.

Man, what happened to the line "a game is over when the ref blows the whistle"? I am sure that players on both sides - especially those with a soon-ending contract - are extremely nervous.

[Det the Threat]

Junior Hoilett on a free would be a major coup for any club.

Yep.
Though, it's not really a "free transfer" even if you don't have to pay anything to his former club.

There's pocket money and/or a signing bonus to help him make a decision for your club and that's most of the times not less then what you'd have to pay as a transfer fee.

[Foye]

Munich's fans are so dumb. Booing Robben for choking that penalty. That's like running over an already dead person with a car.

[Point forward]

Munich's fans are so dumb. Booing Robben for choking that penalty. That's like running over an already dead person with a car.

Bayern fans are sheeple - remember when they constantly booed Neuer? All magically disappeared after the Real PK series.

[Foye]

So Munich have now completed signings of:

- Tom Starke (experienced goalie)
- Dante (good center back)
- Shaqiri (talented midfielder)
- Claudio Pizarro (quality backup striker)

Yet, their roster is still a work in progress, IMO.

Gone are:
- Pranjic
- Breno
- Olic
- Butt
- Usami

Probably gone are:

- Contento and/or Rafinha
- Petersen

There's still a lot of time left in the transfer window but it's looking less and less likely that they will sign a top player - but they definitely need another top offensive player to compete with Dortmund. Lewandowski is apparently their top choice but no way does Dortmund let him go.
Javi Martinez (defensive midfielder/center back) from Bilbao is also a guy they might target although a transfer is unlikely because of his 40 mil. € price tag.
On top of that they need another 3 or so solid backups to round out their thin roster.

Dortmund is in similar position but they already have completed a big transfer in Marco Reus. Unlike Munich, they're likely to lose two key players, though.

Dortmund transfers:

Incoming:
- Marco Reus
- Leo Bittencourt

Probably incoming:
- Julian Schieber
- Rafal Wolski

Gone:
- Lucas Barrios
- Florian Kringe
- Antonio da Silva

Most likely gone:
- Shinji Kagawa

Maybe gone:
- Felipe Santana
- Patrick Owomoyela

Reus is a major move, although losing Kagawa and Barrios hurts. If they lose Santana they'll need another center back. They're rumored to be interested in Jan Kirchhoff.
Rafal Wolski is rumored to be the best talent in Poland and Dortmund is about to sign him. I don't know him and would expect him to need at least a year to adapt to the Bundesliga, though.


My Mainzer make a dumb decision by not extending Mohamed Zidan's contract. We need him. Who else is gonna score the goals? Choupo Moting, Szalai and Allagui have all been to inconsistent lately.

[Point forward]

^^IMHO Dortmund is pretty set - the loss of Kagawa hurts, but they have more than enough money AND enough capable players to replace him. Perhaps Sahin can be loaned back from Real? Bayern in any case needs to add more quality and quantity - too many players have a free pass. Gomez e.g. will play until the rest of eternity - but when Bayern was REALLY great, Scholl, Salihamidzic, Elber, Zickler, Sergio and Jancker battled for max. 3 striker slots.

Speaking of Bayern, their eternal headcase Breno is standing on trial for arson. Apparently, he was violently drunk and threatened his wife and manager, who left with the kids, and then set his own house on fire. According, the flames broke out at 4 different places at the same time, almost ruling out a freak accident. Breno faces 15 years of jail if he is convicted

[Foye]

I got a feeling Kagawa isn't the only of their key players to leave this offseason. Just wait till after the European Championship.

Kuba will stay. I still have doubts about Lewandowski, Piszczek and especially Subotic.

Subotic will leave as soon as ManU, ManCity, Chelsea or Arsenal knock at his door. He wants to play in the premier league.