I was obviously joking with my initial post just to point out some of the stupidity I've seen on this forum,I'm well aware of Dortmund's injuries.
Bundesliga 13/14
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
I was obviously joking with my initial post just to point out some of the stupidity I've seen on this forum,I'm well aware of Dortmund's injuries.
He literally has his whole defense and midfield missing. You can criticize him all you want though because I don't care about Dortmund or Klopp, but see no reason why you needed to bring Moyes into this. Klopp has won the league with this team and taken them to the Champions League final.
This you can not of course, but he's not rotating much enough I'd say and this costs them right now.
He definitely knew that Piszczek would have to undergo back surgery, which he did. He didn't buy a right back though.
See my post above, I was being sarcastic.
WTF is going on with Gundogan?
Is he really injured or hes he pissed cause he didnt leave for a different club in the start of the season and is now looking to the january transfer window to try and leave Dortmund?
Whats going on with him?
Suppose they were more concerned on how they replaced Gotze and went for two attacking players to try soften that blow.
Probably yea but still, should've added. Shame because I hoped they'd atleast try to challenge Bayern for the title.
Come to think about it, Bayern have done bloody brilliant job. Strong first squad and their second squad's not all that far away from the first.
Tbf, I doubt there were better right backs than Großkreutz available, who were happy to sit on the bench when Piszczek returned a few months later and Sokratis and Kuba are able to play that position. I think another versatile player who could fill in at centerback and CM would have been great, but other than that the squad isn't that thin, it's just incredible bad luck really.
Pinched and inflamed nerve in his back after a serious back injury which caused a lot of pain and still does.
Well Tottenham suffered 6 goals agains City , still we didnt managed to beat Tottenham !! Lets face it , this could be the worse season since the early 90s .
PS
Guess you didnt see City - Bayern ??
If you would bother to actually check what kind of injuries the Dortmund players have, you would see that this argument is rubbish. The only player with an injury, which could be a result of being overplayed, is Marcel Schmelzer and he certainly did not play too much games and came back with that injury from the national team.
The squad was completely fine, especially given the financial muscle of Dortmund. Calling it "tiny" or "paper thin" is stupid IMO. I just pointed out which United players would be missing in the same situation...
I don't know to be fair, unless I'm missing something, prior to getting Friedrich ( who just gifted Bayer a goal today and didn't play football for what, odd 6 months ? ) their CB consisted of Hummels, Subotić, Sokratis and this young lad Kirch(?). 4 CBs for a team that's playing in CL, Bundesliga and DFB Pokal in a team that's relying on a lot of hard work and running ? Asking for trouble if you ask me.
Just 4 real CMs competing for 2 spots, that's Sahin, Gündogan, Bender, Kehl ( I'm not going to count Großkreutz as a CM ) ? Mkhitaryan can move from the #10 to CM but that's rather removing some of your strengths in order to patch your squad. Not even going to mention their #9 options as it's basically Robert, Schieber ( who's joke of a player ) and if needed, Reus or Aubameyang. Again, for a team that's playing on 3 fronts and got desire to win something and on top of that they're running a bloody lot with high pressing and so on.
I don't want to sound like a smart ass here but it is thin imo. I know that Klopp likes it tight ( or so I've heard ) but it's a double edged sword, isn't it.
Yea I know that I probably went over the line with the overtiring argument there, sorry for that. You can't predict torn ACL obviously but still.
They have 4 CMs in Gündogan, Sahin, Bender and Kehl. Nothing wrong with 4 players for 2 positions, especially with players like Mhiki and Kuba being able to play that position as well. Same goes for every position other than centerback, where they had 3 players and one talent who they trusted a lot in pre-season. Like I said, you could argue that another versatile player for centerback/CM would have been a smart decision, if they don't trust Sarr or Günter to play in the back four, but other than that I really don't see the problem and even without that player, it's not a paper thin squad. Now they have Friedrich as the 4th choice centerback, it's not perfect, but even though he made a mistake today, I think he did okay overall in the 3 games he played, he's not eligible for the CL though and now with Bender most likely also injured, it should be interesting who starts in Marsaille.
One other not mentioned problem so far are the disrupted seasons of the two mentioned highly valued talents. If at least one of them would not being thrown back by injuries (what a surprise...), Dortmund would never bought Friedrich and trusted the lad. It is simply a chain of a lot of unfortunate situations at the moment, which could cost them dearly.
i said it here before, their problem is that Großkreutz is their answer to a shortage on about 4 positions, all of which are now to be covered. Same can be said for other versatile players - and no one can tell me there weren't any players of the 5Mio price range around which wouldn't have blown their bank account or their salary bill to cover that better than it was done.
The way i see it, Klopp(?) *wanted* only players with a perspective like Miki or Auba and deliberately didn't want to just "fill the squad".
It turns out to be a mistake now, which is smokescreened by complaining about bad luck.
Klopp gambled, and lost.
What 4? Durm was always the back-up at left back, Hofmann, Aubamayang the two attacking back-ups out wide. When they were missing Mhiki, Gündogan moved up, so you could argue they miss another AM or striker, if you don't want Schieber to play, but those aren't positions in which Großkreutz would help out. He was always first choice right back replacement and a versatile player if needed somewhere else. Nothing wrong with that.
Dortmund's injuries are the main reason they have had mixed results in recent weeks.
http://www.welt.de/sport/fussball/b...skreutz-ist-Klopps-Mann-fuer-alle-Faelle.html
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/sport/borussia-dortmunds-grosskreutz-kevin-ueberall-1.1811250
http://www.bvb.de/Mannschaften/Profis/Kevin-Grosskreutz
"Wenn man die beiden Innenverteidiger-Positionen und die „Doppel-Sechs“ zusammenfasst, sind in einer Fußballmannschaft neun Positionen zu besetzen. Sieben davon hat Kevin Großkreutz beim BVB schon bekleidet."
= "---A modern football team has 9 different positions - if one adds up the CB and double #6 - 7 of those, Großkreutz already played..."
http://www.welt.de/sport/fussball/b...-Grosskreutz-so-wichtig-fuer-den-BVB-ist.html
""Der kann fast alle Positionen spielen", so der Trainer, der sich deswegen auch dagegen ausgesprochen hatte, einen weiteren Linksverteidiger zu verpflichten."
= "he can play almost any position, said the coach (Klopp), who, amongst other reasons, named that why he didn't hire another left back.."
So? Of course, he's a versatile player who can do a job in lots of positions, it's great to have someone like him and clubs need versatile players. He's still not first in line in any position other than right back, so I don't see the problem.
Can we just award the trophy to Bayern now? Seriously what's the point of waiting? Lol
Hoffenheim up 2-0 against Dortmund.
Make it 2-1, Aubameyang.
2-1 now. Dortmund looks really done right now, they need the winterbreak to get over all the injuries. It's crazy they got through that difficult CL group, even crazier that they finished 1st. They shouldn't fall too far behind Gladbach with today and the last game for this year next week, so finishing top 3 in the league should still be no problem.
Just seen the goal actually, what a greedy little cnut Aubameyang is 
( he's a striker, got every right to go for it etc. before somebody is wound up )
( he's a striker, got every right to go for it etc. before somebody is wound up )Gotze puts Bayern 2-0 up. What a goal.
Piszczek scores, Dortmund 2-2 now.
Oh FFS! Two huge chances... Come on BVB!
Bloody Polish players and their consecutive consonants.
Nuremberg blew their two-goal lead at Hannover.
Diouf scored in the 87th & 90th to end the game 3-3.
Bayern are twelve (!) points ahead of Dortmund.
Diouf scored in the 87th & 90th to end the game 3-3.
Bayern are twelve (!) points ahead of Dortmund.
Dortmund are just too injury ravaged to keep up with Bayern who themselves had loads of injuries but much better squad depth. Reus is looking jaded too.
It was clear before the season even started that Dortmund still don't have the squad to handle two competitions, especially in defence. They'll put more focus to Champions League and I expect them to go very far but as far as the league goes they'll be 2nd or 3rd depending on how Leverkusen fare.
So it was clear before the season that Dortmund would at one point miss all starters from the back line and the center midfield and that out of the nine defenders and four DM/CM only one single player (Großkreutz) would stay without injuries for one season half? Yes, for that kind of horror scenario the squad is not deep enough, but not only is this highly unlikely, I can also count the teams, which can handle that without losing much strength, on one hand. Bayern Munich is one of them and like them all other teams with that depth at least double Dortmund´s wage bill.
What was clear before the start of the season was, that Dortmund would have to play a great league season to be able to pressure the best team on the planet and quite frankly, they don´t do that. Their season so far ranges between good and decent as a whole and definitely satisfying given the circumstances. Overall they have fulfilled two of their three minimum season goals (KO stages in CL and quarters in German cup) and are on their way to reach the third (top 3 in the league).
Well, it was clear that they would have to play 50+ games this season to complete all their (self-set) goals.
If you check the early games of this season, before it started raining injuries and Piszcek was the only wheelchair candidate, they already had mostly 3, sometimes 4 players from their reserve squad as substitutes on the bench: Durm, Hofmann, Günter, Kirch...
Add to that Schieber who also is no adequate substitute for Lewa.
Some of the young lads are undoubtedly very talented, but not there yet. Also i wonder what good it will do to the development of those players with the huge weight they have to lift at the moment.
No one is talking about summing up a bench like Bayern. But there is a way in between those two extremas.
Well, Klopp thought differently and given his track record with the development of young players I know who I would put my money on.
Ideally the bench for the first season half would have looked like that:
Langerak - Sokratis - Durm - Kehl - Sahin - Aubameyang - Schieber
Jonas Hofmann would be the first offensive player in line to move in and either Sarr or Kirch being the first defensive counter part.
The only player in that list, which could be called a reserve team player is Marian Sarr, because he is the only one to actually have frequently played in the second team in that season.
Hofmann and Durm are NOT reserve team players, unless you call them like that because they moved up the ranks, which makes no difference because in the end the quality decides and not from where they come from. They made enough impressions for Klopp to put their trust in them. As a result both received first team contracts and a place in the squad. They are squad players and this is not erased because of their young age, although 21 is not even that young anymore in the current Bundesliga. They also proved Klopp right.
Durm was pretty much always there when needed and aside from a few inconsistencies plays an absolute fine season so far. As logical consequence he became a German U21 International.
The same status was archived by Jonas Hofmann, a player who would probably start in half of the Bundesliga teams. Hofmann did extremely well as impact sub (he was originally only the 6th option in the offensive midfield afterall), scoring two goals and seven assists in the 390 minutes he played for Dortmund this season. This is a quota that most squad players can only dream of.
So yes, Klopp trusted some of his talents to carry some weight just like he has always done in his career as coach. It carries some risks but not doing so and only going for finished articles will probably never happen in Dortmund in the near future, because it is simply not Klopp´s way (the way this team was built in the first place) and would negate one of his greatest strengths as coach: his ability to develop talents.
It is also not part of the current problems because the talents had the wished development. The problem is the extreme concentration of injuries in the defense, which can´t be solved unless they increase their wage bill by a large amount. Otherwise you won´t get quality players (numbers alone won´t logically help them) who will happily sit on the bench and wait for the current highly unlikely scenario of having the whole back line and CM wiped clean to actually get game time. For players Borussia Dortmund is not a club to become rich by sitting on the sidelines, but to actually get some perspective to make an impact.
If we can get Shaw (At least my wish)
Then we should have our eyes on Ricardo Rodriguez.....he plays a fantastic season for Wolfsburg (Apparently a Chelsea target).
Then we should have our eyes on Ricardo Rodriguez.....he plays a fantastic season for Wolfsburg (Apparently a Chelsea target).
Dortmund down 1-2 at home to Hertha.
Poor Dortmund. Lost 4 out of the last 6 league games.
Dortmund really were done, they got lucky that Leverkusen lost as well and the 4th and 5th placed teams Wolfsburg and Gladbach face each other tomorrow, so they should still have no problems to finish in the top 3 in the end. Good for them that there's a winter break in Germany, they really need the 10 days rest.
Leverkusen doing their usual bottling job, the moment they talked about being the 2nd best team in Germany and challenging Bayern for the title, they lost two games against weak teams. They should have shut up and played every single game for itself. What a strange club they are.
Schalke play in Nürnberg in about an hour and could get close to the CL places again, if they manage to win. Nürnberg hasn't won a game so far and after Braunschweig's and Freiburg's wins today, really need 3 points. It would fit perfectly into Schalke's history if Nürnberg's first win of the season ends Jens Keller's time as manager of Schalke, he's also not at the game today because he's sick, so it could be his last game without even being at the game.
Bayern's game against Stuttgart is postponed till the end of January because of the final at the club world cup today. But with the way Dortmund's season turned out and Leverkusen fecking up, it really looks like as if the title is staying in Munich anyway.
Leverkusen doing their usual bottling job, the moment they talked about being the 2nd best team in Germany and challenging Bayern for the title, they lost two games against weak teams. They should have shut up and played every single game for itself. What a strange club they are.
Schalke play in Nürnberg in about an hour and could get close to the CL places again, if they manage to win. Nürnberg hasn't won a game so far and after Braunschweig's and Freiburg's wins today, really need 3 points. It would fit perfectly into Schalke's history if Nürnberg's first win of the season ends Jens Keller's time as manager of Schalke, he's also not at the game today because he's sick, so it could be his last game without even being at the game.
Bayern's game against Stuttgart is postponed till the end of January because of the final at the club world cup today. But with the way Dortmund's season turned out and Leverkusen fecking up, it really looks like as if the title is staying in Munich anyway.
League done and dusted in December. November, really.
Well, it's not that easy. We still need to play with the same determination in all games we showed so far. We got lucky with a few results as well. It takes a massive bottling job to loose the league this season, but I'd say if we're 12 points clear at the end of February, we can talk about done and dusted. We're in a brilliant position to finally defend the title again of course, for the first time in 10 years. It was an absolutely amazing year and we can finish it today by winning the club world cup.