I'm not sure what they're supposed to do, really? They tried the tough man route and lost Lewandowski on a free. If their players don't want to be there then they can't keep allowing them to leave for nothing. It's unsustainable.
Make the most of it whilst you canDon't know what to think about all these "leave Twigg alone, he's made a decent thread finally" posts
Well ninth more minutes is not really someone you cannot possibly replace? Especially considering as some players will probably have their minutes cut by long injuries (Reus I seem to remember being out forever). And even if he played a lot it doesn't mean he was good or key in those game. They'll do fine without him, I actually think he might not turn out to be good business for City at all.
Oh they can replace him. However with Hummels and Gundogan going, I think it's vital that no other first team players leave. It's very hard to replace these players all successfully.
Lot of pressure on my next thread...Make the most of it whilst you can
No worries. We all expect you to fail.Lot of pressure on my next thread...
I can't be the only one sick of seeing Bayern end up with the top players from their closest league rivals. You'd think Dortmund would actually insist on selling their players overseas.
Yep I agree. Two players is enough, if someone like Mkhitaryan (likely) or Aubameyang (not likely) also leaves, it becomes very tough. For Mkhitaryan they already have a great replacement in Dembele though.
The Mkhitaryan from this season can not be replaced he'd be by far their biggest loss, Aubameyang on the other hand would be replaceable imo, because he is not nearly as involved in the play.
I doubt they let Mkhitaryan go now that Reus might be injured for 3-4 months (or even more, difficult to predict with his injury - Inflammation of the pubic bone joint really sucks in that regard). They might have considered it otherwise for the right offer even though Watzke said they wouldn't. I wouldn't be surprised to see Mkhitaryan sign a rather short extension so that he plays on significantly higher wages but still has the option to leave next summer.
I think they've tried that, to be fair to them. Sahin and Kagawa moved abroad. In the case of Gotze, Bayern activated his release clause. With Lewandowski, like I said, they tried to hold firm only to lose money on a top class striker.
Would love to see one of their players stick 2 fingers up and say they'd rather stay at Dortmund.
Slight understatement. I hope you get back to where you used to be - but right now nowhere near their level.
If Bayern were in England they would not have reached this status in the first place imo. Our league doesn't allow super clubs to form. Look at Stones. If this were Germany and Bayern wanted him they would be negotiating a low fee right now. In England we have 3 mega rich clubs fighting for him which is driving the price up never mind having more options for the player if he wanted to stay in his league. Its not as if you leave Dortmund for Leverkusen if you want to continue in Germany as a top player.
Yet the league has United, and emerging City
And we are as big as we can be. We will never dominate the league as super clubs the way they do.
We we're that for a very long time. Things change, and they can in Germany as well
Those on top of the foodchain are a small bunch indeed and can soak up only so many players. I mean, how many diffenrent players for each position can Real, Barca, Bayern (and maybe City) hire? I'd say BVB *is* in a position to be an alternative for players considered by PSG, Chelsea, United (or City). While they are not an absolute prime club, they are close behind those. So i see no reason for whining, really. They closed Dembele who is considered the next hot thing (possibly more so than Sanches), now Marc Bartra is rumoured to be a Hummels replacement. Not exactly second-grade material.
How many of the top players in Germany transferred to Bayern in the recent seasons? The most of the players Bayern bought abroad.
But for them it's just a temporary station. Also financially they are still not able to provide the top wages to compete with the teams you mentioned. A player might see Dortmund as a better destination to break through into the elite but it's really a team that can not hold on to the very best. I also don't think it's whining to point this out, it's a realistic assertion of their situation and btw one that many teams in the Bundesliga are in not just Dortmund. Schalke, Gladbach, Leverkusen or Wolfsburg aren't off any better in that regard, probably even worse.
I do not think that Bayern has the first pick on the prospects from Germany. The German talents seem not to decide where to first get the best money but where they have the best chances for the breakthrough.
Of course Bayern have a best of 11 from German football since all of those players could be players in an actual best of line up and not look out of place.
They actually grow - the only thing that stopped it for awhile was their 14/15 season in which they underperformed. The art is not to have such seasons. If they permanently stay in the CL spots and keep the managerial attitude they have right now (and haven't had 15 years ago) the gap between Bayern and them will get smaller with each year. But you cannot expect a club to be on the same level after 5 years of good work that others needed decades for.
Silly argument. United were in a position not that dissimilar from Bayern until the oil money swept in, the difference is that Bundesliga's rules don't allow that. Also Bayern getting free picks and special discounts is a myth, too. They had to wait out Lewandowski's contract, they used a clause for Götze which everyone could have activated and I wouldn't call the fee for Hummels cheap either. They also paid €25-30m with a shit ton of addons for Neuer (making him the second most expensive keeper in history, after Buffon) and €30m for Gomez which was around €5m more than the league's previous record (Amoroso in 2001). In 2011 when Vidal's contract was down to a year (iirc) they agreed terms with the player but were told to feck off by Leverkusen who then sold him for a cheap fee to Juventus in winter.
They are not thaaat bad. I mean they actually won stuff other the 4th place trophy and claim that they intend to win more trophies as well... but in principle the comparison is not so wrong. They are a second tier club which needs lots of luck on and of the pitch (above average signings, errors made by super clubs) to become a super club themselves.So basically they're a German Arsenal
Great post, btw.
Prospects/ talents was the wrong word. Naturally, they don't buy the random talented 17 year old, since it would be a bad move for the player (no playing time) and the club (silly money for nothing). Still, playing for Bayern is the pinnacle for most German players as well as all foreign players which don't want to move abroad.
Bayern have a history of raping their nearest competitors. Look at Leverkusen through the Ballack era etc.
United were in a similar position as in the club dominated the league both on the pitch and financially for years and from what I remember Fergie had no scruples about buying from PL clubs.
Dortmund have been increasing their wage bill steadily, but I doubt they could pay the kind of money that could keep a player from leaving if he wants to join Bayern, it's also not like clubs are hoarding money in their bank accounts here. Higher wages would have to come out of something else, most likely youth work or transfer budgets..
