IMO Kroos and Thiago would have complemented each other so well. Thiago is much more of a risk taker, and in that capacity I think that in a game like today he's actually the one making the most stuff happen from midfield. IMO that is very important, even if he makes some maddeningly lavish mess ups periodically.
I just don´t think that he hasn´t shown the necessary level of performance yet. It is not even him messing up. He is just a passenger 9 out of 10 times. He doesn´t control games and the moments of magic are few and far between. I´d love him to come good, because he can be a joy to watch but I am starting to lose patience.
I guess Ancelotti will need to rotate the defense fairly. I do not see Hummels better than Martinez - not even in the long run when he totally adapted. And Boateng does not to play every match, either.
Wasn't he the one guy at Bayern who was not injured last season? All this "his knees are troublesome" talk never materialised.
Vidal's problems aren't with injuries, but rather with alcohol (allegedly).
If he keeps playing like he has been for over half a year now he can chug all he wants for all I care.
Even still, I think drink drivers are scum.
Are you losing patience with Lewandowski needing 5 clear chances to score 1 goal too?
No, not even close.
Actually, Bayern with Kroos the last 2 seasons, wouldn't be any different. Kroos has age on Alonso as his main advantage, however, in terms of passing, Alonso might be the best all around passer I've seen. Alonso is a lot better DLP than Kroos is and even though both are slow AF, one actually attempts to play defense, while the others watches the other team pass him by....
Nonsense
They did back then, when Toni was still with us. But he's gone now, and we'll never get him back, sad as it is.
First game in a new team after a lengthy injury. He'll do well after settling in.
Bottling the easy ones has been Robert's problem ever since. It's his weakness, and it won't go away. Time for people to come to terms with it.
Toni handles pressure so much better than Xabi, it's not funny. Alonso is good as long as he's given space and time. The moment he's being pressed, he crumbles. That is the big difference between him and Toni, who still finds a solution when one or two guys stand on his heels
FC Bayern München 27.02.1900 277.000 
FC Schalke 04 04.05.1904 142.000 
Borussia Dortmund 19.12.1909 140.000 
1.FC Köln 13.02.1948 81.604 
Hamburger SV 29.09.1887 75.279 
Borussia Mönchengladbach 01.08.1900 75.171 
SV Werder Bremen 04.02.1899 36.500 
Hertha BSC 25.07.1892 32.800 
Eintracht Frankfurt 08.03.1899 30.533 
Bayer 04 Leverkusen 01.07.1904 27.462 
VfL Wolfsburg 12.09.1945 19.500 
1.FSV Mainz 05 16.03.1905 13.500 
FC Augsburg 08.08.1907 13.500 
SC Freiburg 30.05.1904 10.000 
SV Darmstadt 98 22.05.1898 7.600 
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 01.07.1899 6.980 
FC Ingolstadt 04 05.02.2004 1.000 
RasenBallsport Leipzig 19.05.2009 8 I think he had quite a few injuries before that season but might've been just wrong on that. Still very thin midfield imo. Sanches doesn't look like he's ready at the moment.
There's Kimmich, and once Boateng is back, Javi Martinez becomes available for our midfield as well. I also expect Sanches to pick up. This was his first game for a new team after an injury, and the conditions weren't easy. We struggled last season aginst Weinzierl's Augsburg as well.
The problem isn't so much the number of midfielders but more the lack of certain types. I think it's the creative part that is somewhat lacking. For the rest you have Alonso, Vidal, Martinez and depending on how good they are Sanches and Kimmich. For the creative part is there anyone but Thiago?
No, apart from Thiago we don't have another real playmaker. Hope we're going to do something about next season. Still, it's not that bad. As you've said, we have our wingers. On top of that, Alaba and Lahm contribute as well, and Boateng and Hummels are superb at pinging accurate long balls. Vidal(he carried us through large patches of the last season) and Martinez(he played that perfect throughball leading to Lewa's 1:0 yesrerday) shouldn't be underestimated either.
No you are right, though Costa and Robben drifted inside and sometimes played a kind of "10" under Pep when he fielded 5 attackers.
Thin midfield? Kimmich, Alonso, Vidal, Thiago, Sanches and Martinez. They got every position covered twice with quality players.
and I have high hopes, that the only reason Bayern havent added a creative midfielder this summer is, that they are going to add Dahoud next summer to fill this hole, as he was impossible to get this year. He tops my wishlist.
Add Brandt to the list. I'd love to see him in a Bayern dress.
True. Thiago was injured huge parts of that season though. I've since gotten past Kroos'departure. I have added it to the heap of problems that messed up Götze transfer brought us.
So would Reschke
He'll end up with us sooner or later. Not 100% sold on him though. He's quality, but his ceiling is definitely lower than that of Ribery.
All of this kids need to step up their performance to survive at Bayern. If they do not it will not be enough.
Yep. To be fair getting the accurate timing down from that distance is extremely hard, way harder than many realize. Neuer is simply making it look easy, because he is in terms of aniticipation the best I have ever seen live.
That says more about Ribery’s quality than anything else. He is still quite underrated by fans of other clubs (due to injuries and his personality). He is imo the best Bayern player in the 21. Century (= since Lothar left). The only player who might be able to replace him like-for-like would be Hazard, but Chelsea won´t sell him. What makes Ribery so special is that he is both a winger and a play-maker. He takes a lot of pressure of our midfield to create stuff. The midfield need to step up when he is not there, especially when we use a slightly more normal system without 4-6 attackers.
I was thinking the same too. It's funny to say it, but it's true, that Ribéry remains somehow very underrated. And indeed, his contribution to the current status of the FCB cannot be overstated.
Shame on you
I always found that notion of Leverkusen actually being able to challenge for more than the 3rd spot hilarious. Schmidt is way too easy to be found out with his tacticsClose between him and Lahm imo. The latter is just so damn consistent for around a decade now.
Why? They have very clearly the third strongest squad on paper while we have a massive overhaul on our hands. I did not think they would be consistent enough to challenge Bayern, but I saw them as our biggest threat for the 2nd place.Shame on you
They did finish 18pts behind you for a reason. Yes, their squad doesn't look bad, yet it's a far cry from yours, coached by a onedimensional pressing bunny, who has no idea on how to teach his underlings some sort of constructive possession football.
Same hereI have Pojanpalo savely on my kicker manager game bench
