Ah, interesting, I haven't been paying attention enough then. I thought Terzic set up more attacking than that (and that that's anyway kinda obligatory at Dortmund). That will certainly add to the challenge for PSV.
German Football 23/24 |
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"Less sexy, more successful" was Terzic' slogan early in the season and it didn't make his position safer as it backfired to often. Lately they have become more attacking again but still are in a crisis, so this likely will stay interesting for quite some time
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5 seconds after I switch on the match I am greeted by a beautiful goal by Njinmah 
A shame we didn't catch La Liga.
It's skewed due to city's 4 attendees every week though, proper fecks the prems average up.
Please for the love of god get Meunier out of my sight...
You were not wrong!
Disclaimer: i only saw the result. I am not watching „Terzic ball“
This happens when teams are owned in more traditional way. Local supporters feel more involved. So I'm not surprised by 2nd Bundesliga crowd numbers. It dosen't hurt that there are also some big clubs there.
I don't think there can be any excuses for what happened in the second half. Augsburg and Mainz were an opportunity to reduce the pressure before the winter break, instead there's two point to show for with that abomination of a second half as the cherry on top. I don't think there are any arguments left for Terzic.
Such a disappointing signing, a big name coming from PSG that looked really good on paper but has been distinctively average throughout his time.
Looks like this will be it for Terzic:
Watzke and Kehl still have not given a comment since yesterday's match. Which Watzke left omniously early, too.
Various press outlets are reporting that players are pushing for a move, Reus in particular.
The longer they let these things stay unanswered in the open, the more impossible it becomes for Terzic to continue, even if he were to theoretically convince the management in the end of year analysis. I think if they wanted to keep him still, they would have needed to take control of the narrative immediately. So I assume that they are probably already focused on resolving this in an orderly fashion and ideally immediately presenting a successor.
Watzke and Kehl still have not given a comment since yesterday's match. Which Watzke left omniously early, too.
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Various press outlets are reporting that players are pushing for a move, Reus in particular.
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The longer they let these things stay unanswered in the open, the more impossible it becomes for Terzic to continue, even if he were to theoretically convince the management in the end of year analysis. I think if they wanted to keep him still, they would have needed to take control of the narrative immediately. So I assume that they are probably already focused on resolving this in an orderly fashion and ideally immediately presenting a successor.
The tweet about him being a great person is pretty much what people have been saying. He seems like a great guy but not tactically at the level required for the job at Dortmund.
That being said, this does seem a bit like deflection from the management from their own responsibility in this. Terzic has hardly had a much worse record than his predecessors, perceived as better tactical managers, like Rose and Favre. The poor signings to replace world class players like Sancho, Bellingham and Haaland are maybe a more key factor in Dortmunds lack of performances than managers themselves.
You look over the past 2/3 years and you can't really point to a transfer that has been an unmitigated success, I can only think of Ryerson. Shouldn't blame them for Haller since no one could've predicted his cancer coming right after he signed, but even then there have been numerous big money signings that have been massive disappointments up to now, replacing important players.
They've spent much more money than Leverkusen in the last 3 years but there is no comparison in the quality of the squads.
Edit: Saw that Kobel was also signed 3 years ago, he's been an massive success and one of the best keepers in the shot stoppers in the league.
That being said, this does seem a bit like deflection from the management from their own responsibility in this. Terzic has hardly had a much worse record than his predecessors, perceived as better tactical managers, like Rose and Favre. The poor signings to replace world class players like Sancho, Bellingham and Haaland are maybe a more key factor in Dortmunds lack of performances than managers themselves.
You look over the past 2/3 years and you can't really point to a transfer that has been an unmitigated success, I can only think of Ryerson. Shouldn't blame them for Haller since no one could've predicted his cancer coming right after he signed, but even then there have been numerous big money signings that have been massive disappointments up to now, replacing important players.
They've spent much more money than Leverkusen in the last 3 years but there is no comparison in the quality of the squads.
Edit: Saw that Kobel was also signed 3 years ago, he's been an massive success and one of the best keepers in the shot stoppers in the league.
If reports are to be believed that there was a lot of discussion about the type of players that should be signed and Terzic having won that fight against Kehl (and therefore more physical "mentality" players were signed instead of the more technical types), then this failed recruitment strategy also is on Terzic. Honestly seems a bit like the typical Manchester United problem - giving too much power to the manager.
Well that changes what I said, if Terzic was leading the charge in these signings then he has more responsibility on his head.
It has been a case of signing some physical players rather than technical, Sabitzer, Ryerson, Fullkrug, though Nmecha seems a more technical player.
Any suggestions on who might improve your situation? You just might end up with Glasner, who's equally inept at playing possession football, and a worse man manager on top. But if you're really contemplating a change in management, don't forget to hire a new DF, too. Your squad composition might benefit from that more than from a manager sack.
Reeks of cover-my-butt strategy from Kehl, if you ask me.
Looking at the German market Nagelsmann and Hoeneß look like the standout candidates, but they would only be available after the summer - if at all.
Then there's Glasner and Hasenhüttl, who have some experience and recent success (relatively speaking), but aren't really people Dortmund should employ long term.
Or they could go for "vibes" by approaching Kuntz or Enrico Maaßen, who was successful with Dortmund's second team.
Then there's the desperate "all or nothing" category: try to approach Flick or Conte.
Or the Dutch baldie category: Some weirdo on the caf has been going on about Arne Slot for ages, or.. ..Peter Bosz (admittedly trying to appoint him for a second time would certainly raise eyebrows) - probably approachable next summer at the earliest?! Or ten Hag, but his football hasn't looked much better than Terzic's, has it?
They are hardly inspiring, but I think the Austrians look like the most realistic candidates, both in terms of availability and reliability. It's not like Dortmund can just sign some masterful tactician mid season.
I don't know about Kehl. His signings were:
- Haller
- Adeyemi
- Schlotterbeck
- Duranville
- Modeste
- Ryerson
- Özcan
- Süle
- Nmecha
- Sabitzer
- Füllkrug
- Bensebaini
Positive:
- Ryerson - very solid at the back, knows his limitations in attack, can play on either side. For €5m I'd clone him in a heartbeat.
- Schlotterbeck - needs to develop more consistency, but still a good buy
- Süle - gets a lot of flak and could do more with his talent, but I think his biggest problem at the moment is that Hummels has come to life again
- Füllkrug - emergency signing, because of Haller's illness, wasn't exactly cheap, but he leads the team in goals and is second in assists
- Modeste - desperate reaction to Haller's illness, I won't hold that against anyone
- Bensebaini - has been slow to get going, seemed a bad fit for Terzic
- Adeyemi - his profile is too close to Malen's, hasn't produced more than a few weeks of good form in 18 months, way too little impact for €30m
- Özcan - lacks the quality to start for Dortmund, but at €5m and reportedly fairly low wages he's a cost-efficient backup signing, whose highly motivated
- Sabitzer - some injury problems, neither great nor terrible. Judging by what he's done so far maybe a bit too expensive
Too injured/ill to judge:
- Haller
- Duranville
- Nmecha
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What about Hürzeler? Haven't seen his team play but read that some BVB fans want him as replacement come summer
He's 30 years old, didn't have a playing career and has the grand total of 12 months first team coaching experience at St. Pauli, who would probably need quite a bit of money to feck over their promotion chances by letting him go halfway through the season. You must have dug pretty deep into the twitter hipster bubble to find people, who wanted him during the summer.
Next summer
If you read it like that, it sounds bad but on the other hand, that's more experience than Xabi Alonso as a coach (and more than Terzic at the time of his appointment sort of).
Kossonou, Tapsoba and Boniface all on the bench today, last game before the mid season break and they go on to the AFCON. Don't get why they aren't starting, it's the last game before a long break so it's not as if it's because of fixture congestion.
Leverkusen not starting well also, hopefully they don't go on to lose points and potentially top spot.
Leverkusen not starting well also, hopefully they don't go on to lose points and potentially top spot.
Makes sense to me, give playing time to their replacements while still being able to sub them on if needed today.
They'll have time for friendlies to play them before the season restarts, plus Hincapie, Stanisic and Schick have been getting playing time in the EL and Pokal so it's not as if they'll be completely rusty.
Just seems a very risky move right before the mid season break. Just go all out to win this match and plan for the second half of the season later.
Worst I've seen Leverkusen play this season, though full credit to Bochum, who are aggressively pressing Leverkusen. I suppose Palacios not being there is a bigger miss than the defenders because Andrich is clearly not able to recreate his passing and control in midfield.
EDIT: just as I say that Leverkusen get a penalty (thought it was a dive by Schick) and go 1-0 up. Maybe that will calm their nerves a bit.
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2-0! Too easy this time, two passes and Frimpong has massive space to play a perfect cross for Schick. Silky finish.
Great cross from Müller for Musiala, who scores with a header (not many of those for him I believe ^^)
Didn't think Kane could get better but he has. He isn't having to carry a team.
You can say what you want. But Müller has to play always! He is still just Freakin World Class.
Even better Müller's pass to Kane and then just . What a fantastic goal.
Excellent performance so far!
Excellent performance so far!
B04 are a joy to watch.
Xabi you handsome bastard.
Xabi you handsome bastard.
From playing their worse in the season to one of the best, how one goal can change everything! Superb stuff since the goal, you wouldn't think they were struggling just 20 minutes before with how good they look now.
3-0 at the half. Schick hat trick. The flipping riches Leverkusen have, high quality players like Hincapie and Schick are their bench options on normal days
I always liked Rolfes as a player, turns out he's a better DOF
3-0 at the half. Schick hat trick. The flipping riches Leverkusen have, high quality players like Hincapie and Schick are their bench options on normal days
I always liked Rolfes as a player, turns out he's a better DOF
2nd headed goal in his 100th BL game if I just heard that right
People can tell me again and again that all our other attackers have surpassed Müller in individual quality and I don't even really disagree when you look at each player in isolation, but I remain convinced that more goals happen for us when he takes one of the spots behind Kane.
Leverkusen just destroying everyone
Leverkusen end up top of the table at the winter break, last time I can remember this happening was the 2009/10 season I think. They looked really good that season as well with Bayern faltering under LvG, but then started dropping points just around March iirc while Bayern were riding on the brilliance of Robben to the title. Hopefully the same doesn't happen and Leverkusen can maintain this form.
Injuries could be a massive issue as they will lose Boniface, Kossonou and Tapsoba to the AFCON. Previously they would have quality replacements in case of injury but now they'll be left with bare bones if there is an injury issue early in the restart.
Injuries could be a massive issue as they will lose Boniface, Kossonou and Tapsoba to the AFCON. Previously they would have quality replacements in case of injury but now they'll be left with bare bones if there is an injury issue early in the restart.
If Terzic's sacking is immanent, they both certainly aren't options. And with Hoeneß, I don't know. He seems like hit and miss type of manager, and I'm not sure if he would be able to instill his idea of football into this Dortmund squad.
Don't know if Arne would slot in, the rest can be summarized as varying degrees of nightmare fuel. You have my empathy.
Malen is not on him? Probably the most spectacular waste of 30m on a player I have seen in our league. Whoever did this deserves to be yelled at for a lifetime.
Looking at those transfers, while leaving Haller out for obvious reasons:
- Ryerson - good back up player, should never be a guaranteed starter in a club like Dortmund
- Schlotterbeck - still a good buy
- Süle - still a good buy
- Füllkrug - good buy after all
- Bensebaini - has been regressing season after season for Gladbach, I found this to be a poor signing from the get go
- Adeyemi - a bet on the future, mostly looking awful, while still scoring the occasional clutch goal.Jury's still out on him
- Özcan - good back up player
- Sabitzer - I was reeeally worried about how to load him off after his botched loan stint at Utd, until a black'n yellow angel appeared, and allowed us to sell him with a profit
- Nmecha - good prospect for a b2b player, overpaid for just as with Sabitzer, and obviously injury prone
This isn't cutting it, and the fact that Leverkusen and Leipzig have superior squads in both composition and quality should give some food for thought
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Wouldn't include Fullkrug as a good signing, he's been decent at best. If Dortmund want to have ambitions to win a title, he clearly is not at the level you would want from your striker. Schlotterbeck and Sule, it's maybe a case of managers underperforming there because one can say Kehl did a great job signing those two CBs but they haven't been up to the mark in performances.
One should also include player sales in judging Kehl as well though, losing Dahoud and Guerriro on a free should result in negative marks considering their importance to the squad in previous seasons.
It's why I'm not that eager on sacking Terzic mid-season, but it seems like he's lost the dressing room and the build up has just been too shambolic for too long. I'm not expecting beauty here, but it's way too easy to completely disrupt the entire team by just pressing the CBs.
Zorc retired in 2022, Kehl was involved before that, but he's only been fully in charge for the last two summer windows. They signed Nmecha, Sabitzer and especially Bensebaini quite early, I assume it was only after this that they realized that they needed another striker, despite Haller actually hitting very good form towards the end of last season, so I think the Füllkrug money was earmarked for a defender and Meunier picking up an injury right as he was supposed to be sold probably constrained things further.
I think in terms of style Nmecha is actually quite a good fit as a Bellingham replacement. He certainly looks a lot like him, when he carries the ball through midfield. The question is whether he can turn into a consistent performer. Guerreiro's role in midfield should have been replaced by Brandt, but with the other wingers either injured or in questionable form he's been used on the wing most of the time. Even Sabitzer is a player type that adds something to the midfield. So I think the problem is more aboute cost-efficiency: paying extra for Bundesliga players at a time when the budget is tight.
I don't think it makes sense to compare Dortmund to plastic clubs, it's just different worlds.They should look inward: find out what changes to make in order to get the team on a functional level again.
I thought I should alert @KirkDuyt to this bestest pun ever.
Plus of course he needs to get anxious over Dortmund possibly eyeing his dream coach.
It was the right move to inform me. It was a great read until I read further back and some German bully called me a weirdo
Slot would be a good fit for Dortmund though I think. Not as kamikaze as Bosz.
Wow, that's offensive!It was the right move to inform me. It was a great read until I read further back and some German bully called me a weirdo
Slot would be a good fit for Dortmund though I think. Not as kamikaze as Bosz.