Germany Thread

[Paul01]

How about the WS Wanderers feeder club, Eintracht Frankfurt? How did they do?

Is the coach an AH?

[ManfredSchaefer]

2 hours ago, Paul01 said:

How about the WS Wanderers feeder club, Eintracht Frankfurt? How did they do?

Is the coach an AH?

Good win for Eintracht against Bayer, 3-0.

Currently sitting 7th on the table

[ManfredSchaefer]

Union lost to Bayern 2-1 at the Allianz Arena, Munich on Saturday (Sunday our time).

Not a bad effort though if it hadn't been for an offside call confirmed via VAR it would've been 3-1. FCUB were industrious and did okay, but the class & dollars of the home team was always going to overrun the visitors.

Köln, Augsburg & Paderborn are all in the drop zone. Union aren't safe as they are on 7 points (same as Köln & Augsburg) but they have a better GD (-6 vs Köln's -10 and Augsburg's -11). Fortuna are on the same points & GD as Union, but have scored 1 more goal.

Union have their first ever Bundesliga derby next weekend, up against Hertha who are in 11th. It's at the Alte Forsterei so should have a cracking atmosphere

[ManfredSchaefer]

Wow!

And there may have been a great result in the Berlin derby too...

[Prydzopolis]

Paging @FCB, Bayern have a problem! Was hearing that Bayern May go after the Ajax manager, good move if they can make it happen but they’ll have to deal with what they’ve got the rest of the season! Reinforcements needed too!

[Zelinsky]

6 hours ago, Prydzopolis said:

Paging @FCB, Bayern have a problem! Was hearing that Bayern May go after the Ajax manager, good move if they can make it happen but they’ll have to deal with what they’ve got the rest of the season! Reinforcements needed too!

Players not happy, it was very obvious after the midweek cup game in Bochum. Bayern didn't dare cut lose Kovac after the last season, after all he won the double, but the discontent in the squad was brewing already.

Depending on how big the discontent is behind the scenes, and what meaning the club officials make of it, Kovac could be gone as early as tomorrow, or not at all. Last year he was one defeat away from being replaced by Arsene Wenger. If Bayern pull the plug then Wenger would be my man.

I don't agree about reinforcements. There's three French WC winners in the squad, plus Coman, the spine of the current German NT (Suele, Kimmich, Grabny, Goretzka), a few 2014 WC winners (Mueller, Neuer, Boateng for what it's worth), and guys like Lewandowski, Coutinho, Thiago, Martinez. Alaba, Peresic.

Make those guys sing again and Bayern will be a force.

[MathyouWSW]

Crazy events happened in the Freiburg vs Frankfurt match, have a look around the 1:40 mark.

[Prydzopolis]

What a strike!

[MathyouWSW]

David Abraham got 7 weeks for striking Freiburg FC's coach Christian Streich.

Edited November 17, 2019 by MathyouWSW

[Zelinsky]

Ninth consecutive BL title, but changes at Bayern.
 

CEO stepping down, coaching group changing, Boateng Alaba Martinez departing, 2nd team relegated to fourth tier - I haven’t seen so many changes in one hit since the late 70ies, after a player’s revolt forced chairman and GM out of the club, and the team picked the coach of their choice. 
 

Also: there is no transfer money coming in. The squad lacked depth already this season, and Bayern is reluctant to spend big in the aftermath of COVID. So there is hope for BVB, Leipzig.
 

It will be an interesting journey in 21/22 for the club in general, and Nagelsmann in particular. 

[pseudonym]

 

[Smoggy]

Sooooo @FCBhow you feelin today  Bit like a Man U fan I would expect 

Edited October 28, 2021 by Smoggy

[WSWJACK]

Usual suspects Sam Allardyce, Tony Pullis, Mick Mcarthy...whoops wrong league.

[pseudonym]

"Thy Cup runneth over"

[Zelinsky]

On 29/10/21 at 8:14 AM, Smoggy said:

Sooooo @FCBhow you feelin today  Bit like a Man U fan I would expect 

The pinnacle of pain was 2011/12 when they came second three times. Since then I’ve had little reason to complain. It happens, but thank goodness only once every 40 years or so. Their last defeat of that magnitude was in 78/79, and I haven’t forgotten that on yet. 

[pseudonym]

 

[MathyouWSW]

Always had a soft spot for Borussia Dortmund and they are some great code of values. Why change the name of the club that already has a great history towards it?

[Zelinsky]

On 23/11/2021 at 11:07 AM, pseudonym said:

 

50+1 is the death sentence for the bundesliga when it comes to being competitive at UEFA level.

The only club that has the finances to compete with the EPL is Paris St Germaine. Real, Barca, Juve are broke.

I fear that Bayern's 10th title in a row is the beginning of the end of them as a power in Europe. Once Lewandowski, Mueller, and Neuer are gone even them won't have the finances to compete.

And Dortmund will be as significant as benfica or Celtic. 

[marron]

17 minutes ago, Zelinsky said:

50+1 is the death sentence for the bundesliga when it comes to being competitive at UEFA level.

The only club that has the finances to compete with the EPL is Paris St Germaine. Real, Barca, Juve are broke.

I fear that Bayern's 10th title in a row is the beginning of the end of them as a power in Europe. Once Lewandowski, Mueller, and Neuer are gone even them won't have the finances to compete.

And Dortmund will be as significant as benfica or Celtic. 

It's nothing to fear mate, really, is it. Let them all rot in their hollow castles.

[Zelinsky]

3 minutes ago, marron said:

It's nothing to fear mate, really, is it. Let them all rot in their hollow castles.

Ask Celtic supporters how they feel about their standing in europe. Or Ajax or psv supporters. Or benfica fans, the club with the biggest number of registered supporters of any club.

Football has become part of the entertainment industry, is in the process of being taken over. Clubs will have to decide where they draw the line. 

It is something that concerns us all, and is worth worrying about.

[marron]

Oh I agree with the sentiment don't get me wrong.

What I'm saying though is, the Champions League is not what it used to be. It is not a club comp for the champion clubs of Europe. It is more and more a vehicle for ROI for billionaire owners who want that ROI guaranteed and they get that through people watching as entertainment and creating buzz for advertisers on social media and that's it. So if the option is selling your soul to join that elite or carrying on and not really having a shot in the same way anymore then it's an easy one right? When City Group or whoever else lift the trophy... so what? Whoopdedo you bought another one. The metrics are off the chart in Mumbai. So what? 

One thing though I think people need to understand is that when your club makes the call to go for the cash, it's not that your club has changed, entered a new reality - it is that your club simply isn't yours anymore. Clubs have to make their choice but fans do too. 

German clubs have made their choices and that is good for their fans and members. Maybe it becomes more difficult to win in Europe. If they do win occasionally, sweet. Which, Ajax have been 25 years or more since their even then unlikely win, Celtic, Benfica, 50+. But if not, we all know why. At least football is being done right somewhere. 

 

Sadly most pucker up and take the plastic trophy. There's always this thing about thick and thin, just rewards for all the years of pain and til I die. Sure sure. It saddens me that all football is to so many is winning and they'll handwave pretty much anything away. 

 

 

Edited April 25, 2022 by marron

[Zelinsky]

Dortmund vs Bremen 2:0 (after 89 minutes)

Dortmund vs Bremen 2:3 (after 95 minutes)

Bremen’s coach replaced three forwards after the 70th minute, and all three substitutes scored.

Amazing stuff. 

 

[Davo]

Here’s one for the stats nerds.

Schalke vs Union Berlin

Shots: 16:12

Shots on target: 7:7

xG: 1.92:1.13

xG on target: 2.39:1.94

Score: 1:6

[Edinburgh]

43 minutes ago, Davo said:

Here’s one for the stats nerds.

Schalke vs Union Berlin

Shots: 16:12

Shots on target: 7:7

xG: 1.92:1.13

xG on target: 2.39:1.94

Score: 1:6

In other words xG is meaningless crap.

[Davo]

2 hours ago, Edinburgh said:

In other words xG is meaningless crap.

I wouldn’t say meaningless, just that it needs to be used correctly. It’s normally more useful over a whole season, but in single games it can still tell you something.

The point of the stat is to show what would normally happen. By having such a big mismatch between xG and goals scored it showed that something unusual happened, either the winning team finishing really well, the losing keeper having nightmare, or both.

Union’s second goal was a low percentage shot from outside the box that beat the keeper with a huge deflection. Their third was a screamer of a volley from even further out. Their sixth was a volley from a really tight angle near the side of the penalty area. Plus Schalke’s goal was a penalty, so it accounted for nearly half of their xG. 

[Edinburgh]

3 hours ago, Davo said:

I wouldn’t say meaningless, just that it needs to be used correctly. It’s normally more useful over a whole season, but in single games it can still tell you something.

The point of the stat is to show what would normally happen. By having such a big mismatch between xG and goals scored it showed that something unusual happened, either the winning team finishing really well, the losing keeper having nightmare, or both.

Union’s second goal was a low percentage shot from outside the box that beat the keeper with a huge deflection. Their third was a screamer of a volley from even further out. Their sixth was a volley from a really tight angle near the side of the penalty area. Plus Schalke’s goal was a penalty, so it accounted for nearly half of their xG. 

I can agree with "it needs to be used correctly". In my opinion the only correct use has nothing to do with football.

[Zelinsky]

Manuel Neuer out for the rest of the season with a broken leg. The next UCL round will be a steep mountain to climb without him. 

[braad]

On 25/4/2022 at 10:30 PM, marron said:

Oh I agree with the sentiment don't get me wrong.

What I'm saying though is, the Champions League is not what it used to be. It is not a club comp for the champion clubs of Europe. It is more and more a vehicle for ROI for billionaire owners who want that ROI guaranteed and they get that through people watching as entertainment and creating buzz for advertisers on social media and that's it. So if the option is selling your soul to join that elite or carrying on and not really having a shot in the same way anymore then it's an easy one right? When City Group or whoever else lift the trophy... so what? Whoopdedo you bought another one. The metrics are off the chart in Mumbai. So what? 

One thing though I think people need to understand is that when your club makes the call to go for the cash, it's not that your club has changed, entered a new reality - it is that your club simply isn't yours anymore. Clubs have to make their choice but fans do too. 

German clubs have made their choices and that is good for their fans and members. Maybe it becomes more difficult to win in Europe. If they do win occasionally, sweet. Which, Ajax have been 25 years or more since their even then unlikely win, Celtic, Benfica, 50+. But if not, we all know why. At least football is being done right somewhere. 

 

Sadly most pucker up and take the plastic trophy. There's always this thing about thick and thin, just rewards for all the years of pain and til I die. Sure sure. It saddens me that all football is to so many is winning and they'll handwave pretty much anything away. 

 

 

I like this very much.

success is defined in different ways, and when one version of success is rewarded with copious amounts of money, it’s easy to see why many people attach themselves to it. 
 

For those established teams they often mean a great deal to their local communities as they came from those communities. Lots of clubs started as a workers group, a union group, a local welfare group, etc; all things that gave their communities a release from daily monotony, shelter, hope, common cultural identities etc. I never fitted into an NSL club, but they catered for their communities. 

You can’t just transplant that feeling into a fan from a different region or country. Some will get it, but most gravitate towards the easiest idea of success to understand - money and shiny trophies. 
 

I look at my brother in-law and I feel a little sad that he doesn’t overly care for what his Man City team has now become. He’s born & raised in Manchester (can’t say Yoghurt right either) and his family are a tri-generational City household, but he follows Melbourne City much more. I get the impression that Man City isn’t for him or his family anymore, despite the 6 or 7 decades of support.

 

Hypothetically, it could be the case that in 50 years time WSW are a powerhouse of Asia, and the club chasing the Asian dollar. Would that leave room for westies still? 
 

back on the Bundesliga, I am pretty envious of it. There are many clubs that have a social conscience and reflect their area and support (for good and bad). The support at BL2 or BL3 games is testament to that. For the love of anything good, I hope they don’t follow the British model and let a dozen clubs be prioritised over the other 80-odd 

[Carns]

15 minutes ago, braad said:

I hope they don’t follow the British model and let a dozen clubs be prioritised over the other 80-odd 

I think the German model is pretty well embedded into their football culture that I can't see it changing any time soon without a massive fight. Just look at how other fans feel about Red Bull and what they're doing with RB Leipzig etc. Generally they are loathed by everyone else.

[braad]

1 hour ago, Carns said:

I think the German model is pretty well embedded into their football culture that I can't see it changing any time soon without a massive fight. Just look at how other fans feel about Red Bull and what they're doing with RB Leipzig etc. Generally they are loathed by everyone else.

Yeah that’s true. I don’t have a dog in the fight, but I thoroughly enjoy watching most Bundesliga matches. Barring Bayerns recent domination the league is easily one of the best entertainment events going.